When SUPERBUDDIES Met the JSA
by blubeetle3
Summary: Blue Beetle and Company meet the Justice Society of America at a reception. Things ALWAYS go smoothly at these things. Right?
1. Default Chapter

**From the man who ticked off countless Marvel Zombies! From the mind that conceived the contoversial, edgy "Thor Versus Blue Beetle: Who Would Win?" thread on the JLA boards! A story of monumental mediocrity! ACTION! ADVENTURE! STATE-OF-THE-ART SPECIAL EFFECTS! (NONE of which will appear in this story!)**

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 9:47 AM_.

"I think it's a _good_ idea!" said Power Girl.

Sand, JSA Chairman and patient fellow, sighed. "No. It's not. These things never go well. Something bad always happens. That's just the way it is."

"That's not true!" started Power Girl. "What about the time..." Power Girl thought for a moment. "No wait. That one time...No, that ended badly...How about...no..."

"See?" said Sand. "Mixers between teams always go wrong somewhere."

"Well," said Power Girl. "Then the law of averages is on our side. Maybe this is the one time things'll go right!"

Sand sighed again. "With anyone else, maybe. The JLA. The Outsiders. Even the Teen Titans! But, the... What do they call themselves?... the _SUPER-BUDDIES_? That's a disaster waiting to happen!"

Power Girl set her shoulders. Sand could tell that she wasn't going to give up. "Maybe, they're right." she said. "Maybe the JSA are a bunch of _ELITISTS_!"

"Did they really call us 'elitists'?" asked Sand.

Power Girl's shoulders slumped. "No." she said. "BUT it looks that way, doesn't it? You said it yourself. These mixers always go wrong. YET, we still have them with the JLA!"

"Why is this so important to you?" asked Sand. "You don't strike me as the party type."

"Because..." started Power Girl. "Because...it JUST IS!"

Sand sighed again.

"Okay." he finally said. "But, you tell Ma Hunkel!"

_Centerline Diner, New York, NY. 12:21 PM._

"They actually agreed to it!"

Ted Kord, better known as Blue Beetle in the meta-human community, was in a state of semi-shock! He was sitting in a booth with Karen "Kara" Starr, Power Girl.

"How could they agree to it? Don't they know something always goes wrong at these things?" asked Ted.

"Not always." said Kara in between bites of her salad.

"Name one time it didn't." challenged Ted.

Kara waved her fork dismissively. "Nevermind that." she said. "I thought you wanted me to ask for this mixer."

Ted put down his glass of ice tea. "I ask you because I thought there was no way in hell they'd say yes! The ONLY reason I asked you to ask was because Max pressured me into it. Even he didn't think they'd say yes. He told me to take the whole afternoon to convince you to go to bat for us!"

"Well, I already DID go to bat for you." said Kara. "That's why you got the mixer!"

"Great." said Ted dejectedly. "Now, all I have to do is make sure Booster behaves himself, Guy doesn't show up, Ralph doesn't do any of his 'party tricks', and Bea doesn't lose her temper with anyone."

Ted let his fork hit the plate. "Piece of cake." he said glumly.

"Sucks to be mature, doesn't it?" asked Kara.

Ted gave her a sour smile. "I'm starting to think that maturity is overrated."

"Oh, I don't know." said Kara as she slipped a shoe off. "Some women find it attractive." She ran her toe up Ted's shin. Ted stiffened up (no pun intended) in surprise.

"You did say you had the afternoon off, didn't you?" asked Kara with a smile.

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 6:34 PM._

Maxwell Lord IV was ecstatic. He was going to have his mixer with the Justice Society! After that, the JLA would surely be next! Let the word get out that the Super-Buddies were team players, able to lend a hand to whoever needed it. Word of mouth was the best endorsement!

"I can't believe they said yes!" said Sue Dibny. "Don't they know these things always end badly!"

"Nonsense!" said Max.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Sue. "At the last one, Beetle got drunk and picked a fight with a god!"

"Technically speaking, the god picked a fight with Beetle, and Beetle was too drunk to decline." said Max.

"Very well stated, your revisionistness!" stated L-Ron, robotic major domo of Max Lord.

"Anyway, Beetle's matured since then. He was gone all afternoon convincing the JSA to have this mixer. He was exhausted when he got back here!" said Max.

Sue stuck here tongue in her cheek. "_Uh-huh_." she said.

"And we get our reception with the JSA!" said Max enthusiastically.

"And pray nothing goes wrong!" added Sue.

"When did you become such a pessimist?" asked Max.

"When I joined this team." responded Sue. "And the term is 'realist'."

Max shook his head. "It's a party. What could go wrong?"

_JLA Watchtower, the Moon, orbitting Earth. 3:27 AM EST._

J'Onn J'Onnz was on monitor duty. He enjoyed the time here alone. He smiled (but, not before doing a telepathic sweep to make sure he was alone). Peace and quiet.

J'Onn had come to appreciate peace and quiet in his recent years. Let Superman and Batman position for leadership of the JLA. J'Onn was just happy with these moments of blessed quiet.

J'Onn opened a drawer at the monitoring station and pulled out a sleeve of Oreos. He set them down next to his glass of milk. He looked down on his treat. _"Does it get any better than this?"_ he thought.

"I thought you didn't eat Oreos anymore."

Batman appeared from around the corner.

J'Onn sighed. Batman's appearance didn't surprise J'Onn. He had long ago become accustomed to Batman "flying below his radar", as it were.

"Despite your concerns," said J'Onn. "They're just milk and cookies."

"Right." said Batman.

"Is there a particular reason you're here?" asked J'Onn. "Or are you simply here to keep me company?"

"The JSA is holding a reception." stated Batman.

"For whom?" asked J'Onn. He really didn't care who the reception was for. If the reception were for the JLA, J'Onn would have known already. Although, the idea of a reception was a bad one J'Onn thought. They always ended on a less than sterling note.

"Guess!" said Batman.

THIS took J'Onn by surprise. Batman wasn't known for fun and games. J'Onn looked at Batman and was sorely tempted to sneak a peek into his mind. The only time J'Onn saw Batman as anything other than grim was when he was discussing...

"No!" said J'Onn.

"YES!" said Batman. J'Onn knew he was wrong, but, he could have sworn he saw a shadow of a smile on Batman's face.

"Those poor, unknowing fools!" said J'Onn. "What could they have been thinking?"

"Are you going to warn them?" asked Batman.

J'Onn thought about it for a moment. "No." he finally said. "I believe experience is the greatest teacher of all."

"So," said Batman. "You believe the JSA should 'experience' the 'Super-Buddies'?"

"You have to experience them to believe them!" said J'Onn as he popped an Oreo into his mouth.

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 7:54 AM._

"What do you mean you're not coming?"

Power Girl watched Wildcat hitting the heavy bag in the JSA's gym. Whack...whack...whack. Each hit sounding like a gunshot off the bag.

"Sorry, kid!" said Wildcat. "I've got plans for tomorrow. Maybe next time."

"C'mon!" said Power Girl. "Nothing you can break? This is an official event."

"Yeah." said Wildcat, hitting the bag. "For the 'Super-Buddies'!" Wildcat punctuated it with another hard punch to the bag. "What kinda name is that anyway? 'Super-Buddies'! It sounds like a Saturday morning kiddie show!"

"They're former Justice Leaguers." said Power Girl.

"Yeah. When the League wasn't that hot!" said Wildcat, attacking the bag.

"I was part of THAT Justice League!" said Power Girl who was getting mad.

Wildcat stopped hitting the bag when he heard Power Girl's tone. "Look, kid," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you down. I might have said that outta turn. But, I do have plans for tomorrow."

Power Girl calmed down. "All right, Ted." she said. "I understand." Power Girl turned and started to walk away with her head down. Wildcat started hitting the bag again.

"It's just that I heard Dinah might be dropping in at the reception..." said Power Girl as she was walking away.

Wildcat stopped hitting the bag. "Did you say Dinah was stopping in?" asked Wildcat.

_**BINGO!**_ Power Girl knew Wildcat had a soft spot for Black Canary. She was his favorite student and the daughter of the first Black Canary, one of Wildcat's teammates during the "glory days".

"I heard she might be stopping in at the reception." said Power Girl. "I'll tell her you had plans, but, would have loved to have seen her."

"Hey!" said Wildcat. "Nothin' I can't break. I'll be at this little soiree!"

As Wildcat went back to punching the heavy bag, Power Girl licked her finger and marked one off in the air.

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 8:09 AM._

"Booster says he's not going!" said Sue at the doorway to Blue Beetle's cubicle.

Beetle threw his arms up in the air. "THANK YOU, GOD!" he shouted. "Sometimes good things DO happen to good people!"

"Max wants Booster to go!" said Sue.

"And sometimes they don't!" said Beetle to himself. "WHY? Why does Max want Booster to go?"

"To slowly torture you until your mind snaps?" offered Sue.

"Too late." said Beetle. "Really. Did Max even say why he wanted Booster there?"

Sue put one hand in the pocket of her jeans and was pretending to hold a cigar in her other. "Because Booster is one of the core members of this team!" said Sue in a very passable imitation of Max. "He's the backbone...not the brain, mind you...of this team!"

As Beetle sat at his desk, he couldn't help smiling. "That was almost scary!" he said. "It was that good!"

"You should see my Blue Beetle impersonation!" Sue said.

"Nothing too offensive to me I hope." said Beetle.

Sue positioned herself in a stance Beetle recognized as his own. "Let's discuss this reception, Kara!" Sue started with a mischievous smile. "ALL afternoon!"

Beetle's eyes bulged, and he grabbed Sue by the wrist and dragged her into his cubicle. "You know about that? About us?" Beetle hissed in a whisper.

Sue was surprised. "Well, it doesn't take a genius..." Beetle waved his hand for Sue to lower her voice. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out there's something going on between you two." said Sue in a whisper.

"Have you told anyone yet?" asked Beetle looking concerned.

"No." said Sue, perplexed. "Why are you keeping this under wraps?"

"Put yourself in my place." said Beetle. "If you and Kara were...y'know..." Beetle waved his hand into the air to complete his thought. "Would you want Booster knowing about it? Worse. What about Guy?"

"Wouldn't that make you...**'the man'**...in their eyes?" asked Sue.

"Booster would want every detail. And I don't even want to think about what he'd do with those details!" Beetle shivered. "Every horny little question you could think of and more from Booster! 'Is she a natural blonde?' 'Are they real?'..."

"Are they real?" asked Sue.

"Oh. Yeah." said Beetle breathlessly. "And they're magnificent!"

"WOW!" said Sue.

There was a moment of awkward silence between Beetle and Sue.

"You'd better talk to Booster." said Sue finally.

"I'm not going to tell him..." Beetle started.

"NO! No." Sue cut him off. "About the reception!"

"Oh!" said Beetle. "Right! The reception!"

"Don't worry, Ted!" said Sue. "I'll keep it secret!"

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 8:23 AM._

Blue Beetle found Booster Gold in the break room. Booster was sitting at a table, head down, resting on his folded arms. Sleeping. Fire was standing in the doorway looking at the scene before her.

Beetle joined her in the doorway. He just shook his head. Beetle whispered something to Fire, and she started smiling. They both walked over and leaned in over Booster.

"Booster," Fire whispered quietly. "Booooooster."

"Hmmmmmm?" Booster mumbled. He never opened his eyes. He was still in that magical place between asleep and awake.

"Booster," Fire whispered. "Are you sleeping?"

Booster mumbled. "Yeah, baby."

Beetle raised an eyebrow at that. He smiled as Fire continued. "Booster? Will you still respect me in the morning?" she whispered.

"Yeah, baby." muttered Booster. "You know I will."

Fire grinned. "That's good!" she whispered. "Because there's something I should have told you last night."

"Hmmm?" muttered Booster.

**"I'm a man!"** Beetle said loudly in a deep baritone.

Booster's eyes snapped open and he began to yell. He saw Beetle, jerked back and yelled again. Beetle and Fire started laughing.

Elongated Man looked in around the doorway (his body was still in his cubicle as he stretched his neck) to see what the problem was. He saw Booster sitting in a chair next to the break table, holding his chest with a horrified look on his face. Beetle was kneeling on the floor next to the table, laughing so hard he was having trouble catching his breath. Fire was leaning up against the wall, laughing so hard she was holding her belly.

"It sounded like someone was being murdered in here!" said Ralph.

"On...on...," Beetle tried to speak. "Only Booster's dreams!" Beetle started another laughing fit. Fire joined in.

Meanwhile, Booster was starting to regain his composure. "Oh, yeah. Real funny." he said in deadpan. "I thought you were suppose to be soooo mature now!" he said to Beetle.

"What happened? What happened?" asked Ralph, always looking for a good laugh.

"B-B-Booster was sleeping and... and..." Fire started laughing again.

Beetle reached under his goggles and started wiping away tears. "Do me a favor, Bea." said Beetle, trying to catch his breath. "Could you get Ralph up to speed? I need to talk to Booster."

Bea, still laughing, and Ralph left the break room. Beetle pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I'm not talking to you!" said Booster.

"Okay." said Beetle. "Then just listen. Max wants you to go the reception with the JSA."

"I don't want to go to the old-age home and hang out with the fossils!" said Booster.

"What happened to not talking to me?"

"I changed my mind!" said Booster petulantly. "And I'm not going to the reception! That's final! Set in stone!"

Beetle thought for a moment. "That's a shame!" said Beetle. "Kara said she was looking forward to seeing you again."

"Really?" asked Booster, his face filled with almost a "puppy-waiting-to-be-petted" look. "Your not just lying to get me to go?"

"Would I do that?" Beetle answered the question with a question.

Booster looked doubtfully at Beetle. Beetle had Booster snagged. He just needed something to reel Booster in.

"Kara told me she had a new uniform she wanted to show you!" said Beetle quickly. "Something a little more..." Beetle was searching for a word.

"A little more what?" asked Booster impatiently.

"Lowcut!" Beetle said finally.

"I'm in!" said Booster.

_Justice Society Brownstone, New York, NY. 9:11 AM._

"So, what do you see in him?" asked Hawkgirl.

Hawkgirl and Power Girl were sitting in the study. Just talking. "Girl talk". The most dangerous kind of talking.

"He's smart. He's funny. He's cute..." said Power Girl.

"But, not 'dropdead gorgeous'!" interrupted Hawkgirl.

"Well, he's not a model or anything, but, he has his charms..." started Power Girl.

"Such as...? Hawkgirl interrupted again, this time teasingly.

Power Girl raised an eyebrow. "Stamina!" she answered as they both giggled.

Star-Spangled Kid was listening at the door intently to Kara and Kendra's discussion. She was smiling broadly at all she had learned in last few minutes. She was so engrossed, she didn't hear the figure coming up behind her until it was too late. A hand landed on her shoulder and she spun around.

Green Lantern had caught her. The FIRST Green Lantern. The real deal. "Eavesdropping is not the activity a young lady should be engaged in!" he reprimand her.

"...and he's really, REALLY eager to please!" continued Power Girl. "There's a lot to be said for that!"

Power Girl started suddenly. "I almost forgot!" she said as she pulled out a cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" asked Hawkgirl.

"Ted." said Power Girl as she punched in the number.

"Our Ted or your Ted?"

"Beetle." said Power Girl. "I don't know if 'my Ted' is an appropriate term."

"'Your _Teddy_'?" asked Hawkgirl with a grin.

Power Girl shot Hawkgirl a look, but, obviously someone picked up on the other end of the phone. "Hello. Ted. I need you to do me a big favor."

Meanwhile, Hawkgirl was making kissy-faces while Power Girl was talking on the phone. Power Girl gave her a little shove...which knocked Hawkgirl right off of the couch and butt-first onto the floor.

"OW!" said Hawkgirl as she got up and rubbed her posterior.

"That?" asked Power Girl to the person on the other end of the phone. "That was nothing. Yeah, I can meet you there. Same time? Okay. Fine. Bye."

"Setting up an illicit encounter?" asked Hawkgirl teasingly.

Power Girl shook her head. "No! And I'm starting to think it was a mistake telling you!"

"Oh, c'mon, Kara!" said Hawkgirl. "I was just teasing a little... And give 'your Teddy' my best!" With that Hawkgirl ran out the door before Power Girl could say- or DO- anything.

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 9:42 AM._

Blue Beetle was feeling a little bit better about himself. He'd handled that little problem with Booster pretty well he thought. "Now, all I have to do is convince Kara to pretend to be happy to see Booster at the reception!" thought Beetle.

He was about to call her and ask for a favor when she called him to ask for a favor. It was like cosmic synchronicity, or something! He smiled. Then, he stopped.

_"What am I so happy about!"_ he thought to himself. _"I didn't even want there to be a reception. And Booster at a reception is just a disaster waiting to happen!"_

Fire broke his train of thought. "Ted!" she yelled accross the room.

As she walked up to Beetle, she said, "There's something I wanted to ask you earlier."

Beetle braced himself for disaster because, hey, that's what always happens!

"Is this reception formal or costumes?" asked Fire.

Beetle looked blankly at her for a second, then asked, "Do you even HAVE a costume anymore?"

"Well, no." said Fire. "But, if the reception is 'costumes only', I was going to pull one of my old ones out of the closet."

Inspiration hit Beetle like a lightening bolt. "Why not use this opportunity to debut a new costume?" he asked.

Fire's eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"It's the perfect excuse to do a little shopping! Take Tora, Sue, and Mary! You can make an afternoon of it." said Beetle. He added to himself, _"And not become another problem for me to deal with!"_

Fire loved the idea! "What a great idea! I'll ask the girls. It'll give Sue an opportunity to put a major hurting on Ralph's credit card!"

Beetle smiled as Fire left. He'd never thought of himself as a political schemer. But, damned! Was he getting good at it!

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 10:07 AM_.

Power Girl was feeling very pleased with herself. So far everything was going smoothly. Everyone had agreed to be at the reception. Ma Hunkle was taking care of the refreshments. And she had taken care of the one snag, Wildcat, very smoothly.

Now, all she had to do was ask Ted to make sure Black Canary showed up. He got along with her better than Kara had, and Kara was sure Beetle could find a way to get her to come.

In fact, things were going so well that she had time to sit back and page through a computer magazine. Power Girl was browsing through an article when she had the distinct feeling she was being watched!

Power Girl looked up to see Star-Spangled Kid sitting at the other end of the room. She was just staring at Power Girl with a smile on her face. Power Girl raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something you want?" asked Power Girl.

"No." answered Star-Spangled Kid. She kept staring at Power Girl with that smile on her face.

"Well, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." responded the Kid, never changing her stare or smile.

She was seriously starting to creep Kara out! "Why are you staring at me!" asked Power Girl peevishly.

"I'm not!" responded SSK. But, she looked away as though it finally dawned on her that she WAS staring.

_"Kids!"_ thought Kara. _"Who knows what they're thinking nowadays!"_

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 10:12 AM._

Fire was getting ready to leave for her shopping trip. Ice and Mary Marvel had agreed to go shopping with her, but, Sue said Ralph had been a "good boy" lately, so, she was out! COWARD!

Booster peaked into her cubicle. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Not that it's any of your business," Fire said. "But, I'm going out shopping for a new costume."

"Oooooh," said Booster with a smile. "You must have heard Power Girl's got a new costume!"

"What! asked Fire. "She's got a new costume! How do you know!"

"Beetle told me." said Booster.

Fire's mind was working quickly. Why didn't Ted mention it to her? He DID say it was a good opportunity to debut a new costume. And HE did suggest she go shopping. Maybe, he didn't want Power Girl to upstage her, but, was too polite to betray her confidence. Maybe he wanted his team to LOOK GOOD in front of the JSA. And, by God, Fire was going to look stunning!

"Did he say anything about what Power Girl's new costume looks like?' asked Fire.

"Ted said it was lowcut." said Booster with a big smile. "VERY lowcut!"

_"Typical!"_ thought Fire. _"PG wants to show off more of her...assets! Well, I've got assets of my own! MAJOR ASSETS! I'm a MODEL- or, I was a model- SAME THING! She is NOT going to outdo me!"_

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	2. Chapter II

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 11:22 AM._

Power Girl had changed out of uniform and into civilian attire. She was just about ready to go out the door when Jay Garrick, the Flash- the _ORIGINAL_ Flash, stopped her.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, Karen?" the Flash asked her.

"I have to..." Power Girl hesitated. "I have to iron out a few problems with the reception."

"Really?" asked the Flash, some concern on his face. "Nothing too serious I hope?"

While the Flash was asking the question, Hawkgirl walked up to join him. She stood behind the Flash and smiled at Power Girl.

"No, Jay." Said Power Girl, surreptitiously keeping an eye on Hawkgirl. "Just a couple of things that need ironing out."

"Don't worry, Jay." said Hawkgirl in a chipper voice. "Kara's got it covered! No matter how _LONG_ it takes, she'll make sure the job gets done!" Hawkgirl had a wicked smile on her face.

Power Girl could have killed Hawkgirl with the withering glance she gave her. But, Hawkgirl was unaffected as she smiled sweetly at Power Girl.

"Hawkgirl's right!" said the Flash, oblivious to the exchange going on. "You take as much time as you need to make sure everything goes off right."

Hawkgirl had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Flash's unintentional turn of phrase.

"Okay." Power Girl said to the Flash.

When the Flash turned and went back into the study, Power Girl shot her hand out lightening quick and smacked Hawkgirl in the back of the head.

"Ow!" said Hawkgirl. "I was just trying to help!"

Power Girl closed the door behind her as she left.

"Poor Beetle!" said Hawkgirl to herself. "She must be high-maintenance!"

_Centerline Diner, New York, NY. 12:10 PM._

"I coulda killed her!" said Kara.

Ted just smiled. "Kinda like talking about it in front of your dad?"

Kara looked down into her coffee. "I wouldn't know." she said quietly.

"Sorry." said Ted.

"That's okay." she said. "How can you miss something you-"

"DUCK!" said Ted as he shot his head down below the table. Kara reflexively did the same.

"What? What is it?" she asked as she looked at Ted from under the table.

"Fire, Ice, and Mary Marvel are walking in front of the diner!" said Ted.

Kara looked back over her chair. Sure enough, outside the diner, Kara could see the distinctive green and white (and the not-so-distinctive brown) hair of the trio. "And we're hiding from them why?" she asked.

"Because they don't know about us." said Ted.

"You didn't tell them?" asked Kara, a bit surprised.

"Look at the people I hang out with!" said Ted. "I love them like family, but, I don't want them knowing anything they can use against me!"

"Wow!" said Kara, clearly impressed. "I didn't think that kind of _paranoia_ existed outside of the batcave!"

"You call it 'paranoia'. I call it 'saving myself from embarassing questions'."

"Am I an embarassment to you?" asked Kara, a slight note of hurt in her voice.

"No!" Ted looked at her squarely. "You are not an embarassment! Booster or Guy asking a lot of stupid questions is an embarassment."

Kara thought of Ted valiantly defending her "honor" and gave Ted a sweet smile. "Like _'are they real?'_"

Ted raised an eyebrow and, with a half smile, said, "Something like that."

"Well, I'll tell you," she said with a smile, "Not only are they real, they're MAGNIFICENT!"

Ted and Kara laughed at that together. She looked over her chair and said, "I think it's safe to surface now."

Kara and Ted both sat up in their respective chairs.

"Soooo," said Ted, trying to get the conversation back on track. "You said you had a favor to ask?"

"Yeah." said Kara. "I need you to use some of that infamous 'Ted Kord charm' and get Dinah to show up at the reception."

Ted was confused. "I thought..."

Kara cut him off. "I told Ted Grant that she might show up at the reception."

Ted waited. "Any particular reason you told him that or do you just like throwing statements like that out there?"

Kara looked down at her coffee. "It was the only way I could get him to come. He has a soft spot for Dinah."

"A lot of guys have a soft spot for Dinah." said Ted. "It's the fishnets!"

"Ha ha." said Kara. "Ted used to teach her to fight."

"I know." said Ted (the Beetle one, not the 'Cat one). "No problem. Babs owes me a favor. I'll call it in. But you have to do me a favor in return!"

Kara raised an eyebrow. "A favor, huh? Sounds like something that might be fun!" she said as she reached accross the table and ran a finger over the back of Ted's hand.

Ted smiled back. "That depends on whether you think acting happy to see Booster sounds like fun."

"And why should I do that?" asked Kara, slightly disappointed in Ted's choice of favors.

"Because," explained Ted. "THAT was the only way I could convince Booster to come."

"Quite the pair of schemers, aren't we?" asked Kara.

"Plans are always popping up!" said Ted, as he felt a familiar toe run up his shin.

_Joey Q's, East 40th Street, New York, NY. 12:45 AM_

Joey Q's was a very fashionable boutique that catered to an exclusive clientele: fashion-conscious superheroines. Joey himself was a failed comicbook artist who got into fashion design. His "House of Ideas", hecalled it.He made his name by working with exotic fabrics: nomex, kevlar, "unstable molecules", etc. AND he made them all look FABULOUS!

And that's why Fire came to him. She learned about him in her (short) time as a model. And she needed to look fabulous.

Fire was wearing a black leotard and stand in front of a mirror as Joey Q. was fussing around her. Ice and Mary Marvel were sitting in chairs quietly watching this scene before them.

"Honey, you look _faboo_!" said Joey Q. in a voice that sounded like Vin Diesel with a lisp. "That material is fully 'fire-proof', if you will" Joey Q. giggled at his little joke. He stepped back and admired Fire. "Girl, I'd kill to have a body like yours!" he said as he adjusted his beret.

"I don't know, Bea." said Tora nervously. "Don't you think it's a little...revealing!"

"Hmmmm." said Fire, considering. "That's the problem! It's only a 'little revealing'!" Fire turned to Joey Q. "Do you have anything a little more open in the front?"

Joey Q. smiled. "A girl after my own heart!"

Joey Q. walked over and motioned a "v" in front of Fire. "We can open that up in the front. Down to the navel?"

"Can you make the hip higher?" asked Fire.

"Bea!" said a shocked Ice. "There's not a lot of material there to start with!" Ice swore her friend was an exhibitionist. (She didn't know about yet!)

"I could never wear something like that!" said Mary blushing.

"Oh, honey!" said Joey Q. to Mary. "I think you have just fantastic legs. And your not afraid to show THOSE off!" Mary turned a deeper shade of red.

"Do you have this in green?" asked Fire, admiring herself in the mirror.

"I'm sorry, honey! All I have is black." said Joey Q. "If you could give me more time..."

"No. No." said Fire. "I need this for tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow!" asked Ice. "You're not wearing that to the reception?"

"Well, of course I am!" said Fire. "The reception is 'costumes only'! Why do you think I'm getting a new costume?" She looked at her best friend. "You know, you could use something new. Times have changed since you've been in Hell!"

Joey Q. raised an eyebrow, but, said nothing.

"No, thanks." said Ice. "I've grown to like my costume." It was true. Ice didn't like the costume at first when Fire had given it to her all those years ago. But, since then, she had grown quite fond of it.

"Whatever!" said Fire.

"I'll tell you what I can do," said Joey Q. "I can do the alterations you asked for. Add some green, flame-shaped trim. And make you some gloves and boots in the same material. Then, I can have it all express delivered to you tonight!"

"Perfect!" said Fire. "Wait until they see me!"

"In _that_ outfit, they might see _all_ of you!" said Ice.

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 6:43 PM_.

Ted Kord came into the office from the back door. He wasn't in uniform and didn't want to take the chance that someone might recognize him coming through the front door. Ted was tired! Bone-weary (so to speak)! He shuffled to his cubicle to get his uniform and go home. No use in going to the reception tomorrow looking like death warmed over! He was so tired that he never heard the figure come up from behind him.

"Hey, ladykiller!" said Sue.

Ted jumped. He didn't expect anyone to be in the office at this time. "What are you still doing here?" he asked.

"I had a little work to clear up. You guys would be lost without me!" said Sue.

Ted sat down in his chair. "You'll get no arguments from me. Ralph didn't wait around for you?"

"'True Crime' night on A&E!" responded Sue. "He's going to pick up Chinese for dinner. The EXCITING life of a married couple!"

Sue looked at the state Ted was in. "You look like you've been through the wringer! _YOU DOG, YOU!"_

"Ha, ha, and ha." said Ted, although he was smiling.

"Do you think you'll be recovered in time for tomorrow?" asked Sue with a mischievous smile.

"I plan on going home and going right to bed. I'll probably sleep like a stone."

"Well, no use in hanging around then." Sue walked over to the entrance of Ted's cubicle. "I have to go home to my exciting life with Ralph!"

Ted got up slowly from his chair. "I guess you're right! Y'know, I hope Ralph realizes what a lucky man he is to have a wife like you!"

Sue didn't know how to respond to the compliment, so, instead she pointed to Ted's uniform laying on his desk. "Don't forget your clothes!"

Ted almost had forgotten his uniform! Sue saved him a trip back here tonight. Ted picked up his uniform and joined Sue at the entrance. "'Night, Sue."

"Oh, ladykiller!" Sue stopped Ted. "You know you have lipstick on your cheek, don't you?"

Ted rubbed his cheek and looked at his fingers. "No. I didn't realize that."

"You've got to be more careful!" chided Sue. "If someone else were here they'd have found out about 'the secret'! That's a clue even Ralph would find hard to ignore." she said with a smile.

"Thanks." said Ted. "Going out the back?" he asked.

"You go ahead. I'll clean up here and be right out." said Sue.

"Okay." Ted passed L-Ron, who really didn't have a home other than here, on his way out. "'Night, L-Ron."

"Good night, your ass-draggedness."

_JLA Watchtower, the Moon orbiting Earth. 4:01 AM._

"The reception is still on." said Batman.

He had caught J'Onn J'Onnz in mid-bite of an Oreo. J'Onn finished the Oreo and placed his hand out, palm up.

Batman placed a twenty dollar bill in J'Onn's hand. "Don't spend it all on Oreos!" said Batman.

"You should have known better!" said J'Onn, stuffing the twenty in his belt. "Disaster won't strike until after the reception starts."

"It was a longshot, I'll admit." admitted Batman. "Double or nothing that the JLA gets called in before noon?"

"I believe," said J'Onn. "THAT is referred to as a _'sucker's bet'_!"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 8:00 AM._

"T-minus two hours and counting." said Green Lantern as he adjusted the ring on his left hand.

"Think we'll buck the odds this time?" asked the Flash as he was polishing his helmet. "And actually have one of these things go off with out an Earth-shattering crisis?"

Green Lantern looked at his longtime friend and raised an eyebrow. "I'd stay on my toes just in case."

Flash put his helmet on. "Best to be prepared." he agreed. "I told Ma Hunkle to keep her rolling pin close by!"

"Everyone here?" asked Green Lantern.

"Yep." said Flash. "The whole roster is either already here or are on their way. Wildcat even got here early, which surprised me."

Meanwhile, in her room, Power Girl was sitting on her bed,starting to feel nervous. _"This is crazy!"_ she thought. "_Why are you so nervous? You and Ted have this all planned out! Nothing is going to go wrong. Nothing is going to go wrong."_ She felt if she kept repeating this like a mantra, it would come true.

There was a knock on her door. The door opened and Hawkgirl peaked around it. "You're not going to kick my ass or anything, are you?" she asked with a smile.

"No." said Power Girl. "I need you looking your best for the reception. After that, all bets are off." She gave Hawkgirl a half-hearted smile.

"Well, okay." said Hawkgirl as she came in and sat next to Power Girl on the bed. "Thanks for the warning."

"Anytime." said Power Girl.

Hawkgirl looked at her friend. "Afraid to have the 'parents' meet the 'boyfriend'?" she asked teasingly.

"Actually... yeah." said Power Girl honestly.

"Oh." said Hawkgirl.

"There's just so much...tradition here. And I get the feeling that a lot of the people here consider Beetle's time in the Justice League as a joke. And that bothers me! Most of them don't even know him. And I was in the League at the same time as Ted. Do they consider my time there a joke?"

"Trust me, Kara!" said Hawkgirl. "No one here thinks you're a joke. Next to Captain Marvel, you're our most powerful member. Hell, you might even be MORE powerful than Cap!"

Power Girl looked at Hawkgirl. "Do you know, when I was in the JLE, I was jealous of the guys in New York?"

"Why?" asked a perplexed Hawkgirl.

"It's funny, but, if you looked at the JLE, we had all the really powerful members: Hal Jordan, Wally, Captain Atom, Doctor Light, and myself. But, we were like the Oakland A's of the '70's. We did our jobs and all went home in different cabs. But, Beetle and Booster and Fire and Ice- even Guy Gardner!- they all seemed like a family!"

Hawkgirl understood now. How appealing that would look to someone who never had a family. Having people you might not even like- like Guy Gardner- but, you'd still be willing to do anything for them and knowing they'd do anything for you.

Hawkgirl patted Power Girl on the knee. "Don't you worry." she said. "If anyone even looks like they're gonna cause you a problem, I'll take one of Carter's maces and take care of them for you!"

Power Girl just had to laugh at that.

_Super-Buddies HQ, a strip mall outside of New York. 8:49 AM._

It was decided that all the Super-Buddies would meet at the office, and that Blue Beetle would ferry everyone to the JSA Brownstone in the Bug. Team unity was a big thing in Maxwell Lord's book. And, quite frankly, he was afraid some of them wouldn't find their way there unless escorted.

Booster Gold had used an entire bottle of Shinola on his suit and it was gleaming.

Mary Marvel and Ice were dressed in their costumes, looking lovely as always.

Sue, ever fashionable, was fussing over Elongated Man, making sure his longish hair wouldn't fall into his eyes.

L-Ron had put a new coat of Turtle Wax on his metal body, and much like Booster, was gleaming.

Max was his usual sartorially splendid self.

And Beetle was...well...annoyed!

_"If Bea is just trying to be fashionibly late, I'll kill her!"_ thought Beetle, as he sat in a chair, sipping his coffee with one hand and tapping the table nervously with the other.

Fire was indeed late. She was suppose to have been there ten minutes ago. And Beetle, under a lot of pressure, was not happy in the least. He was thinking of sadistic, horrible ways to torture Fire (which Beetle realized he'd never do, but, it made him feel better) when Fire finally did enter the office.

"Sorry, I'm late!" said Fire quickly. "But, y'know, I don't look THIS GOOD right out of bed!" Fire was wearing a raincoat, but, everyone was so pre-occupied with their own thoughts, no one commented on it.

Except Ice and Mary, who exchanged worried glances.

"Okay." said Max. "Now that EVERYONE is here," he directed that to Fire. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Just a second!" said Fire as she removed her raincoat.

Beetle did a spit-take with his coffee that just missed L-Ron. Elongated Man's jaw hit the ground... literally. Booster had a smile that Ajax couldn't wash off. And Max almost lost his cigar as his jaw went lax.

"Oh my!" said Mary blushing. "I didn't think it would be that...small!"

Beetle was coughing hard on the coffee he nearly choked on. Ice was patting his back, trying to help make sure Beetle didn't choke.

Sue elbowed her husband in the ribs- HARD!- to make him stop staring.

Booster, being Booster, said loudly, "BEA! LOOKING GOOD!"

Max had regained some of his composure. "New costume?" he asked Fire.

"What?" said Fire innocently. "This little number?" Fire modelled her new costume. It was a black leotard trimmed with green flames near the collar. It was cut very low (to the navel) and was very, very tight (and the room must have been cold!)! It barely contained Fire's...charms. And the back, everyone realized as Fire spun around, was almost as revealing as the front. The hip was cut high and the back, while not a thong, wasn't very far off from being one! Over-the-knee boots and long gloves, both black trimmed in green flames near the cuffs, completed her ensemble.

"Do you like it?' asked Fire. "It was Ted's suggestion!"

Beetle had almost recoved whenFire's commentset off another coughing jag.

"Beetle..." started Max, who was at a loss for words.

"You'll get the Nobel Prize for this!" said Booster to Beetle, putting his hand on Ted's shoulder. "They give those out for helping mankind, don't they?"

"I...I...I told her she might want to get a new costume!" Beetle tried to explain as he brushed Booster's hand off his shoulder.

"Did you design it?" asked Ralph with a big smile.

"NO!" said Beetle.

"Well, there goes your Nobel Prize!" said Booster.

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 9:54 AM._

"Well," said Green Lantern to the Flash, as they both looked upwards."At least they're prompt."

"A little early, actually." countered Flash.

The Bug settled down for a landing on the roof of the brownstone.

Inside the Bug, Max was hovering behind Beetle. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"The JSA's roof is reinforced for vehicle landings." said Beetle. "I checked. I wouldn't want to pull any _'Miracles'_!" Beetle smiled. To this day, he still razzed his friend about that unadvised landing he made on the roof of the old Justice League Embassy.

Once the Bug had completed her landing, everyone disembarked. Green Lantern and the Flash shook everyone's hand and welcomed them to the JSA headquarters.

"Ready to go inside?" asked the Flash.

Once inside, introductions were made. Pleasantries exchanged. And chit-chat ensued. Little groups formed around the room (Fire's seemed to have a large number of MALE JSA members!), talking amongst themselves. Somehow Beetle got stuck with Booster.

Booster, uncharacteristically acting as a wallflower, was already starting to complain to Beetle. "Man, this is so lame! I don't even know why I agreed to..." Booster stopped when he spotted Power Girl.

Power Girl made her way toward Beetle and Booster. "Ted!" she said happily.

Beetle, standing next to Booster, quickly motioned with his thumb, close to his thigh and away from Booster's sight, toward Booster.

"And BOOSTER!" she smoothly caught herself. "It's so good to see you!" She hugged Booster.

There are few words that could describe the sheer joy on Booster's face when Power Girl hugged him. His face lit up! NIRVANA! If Booster had a tail, he'd be wagging it!

Power Girl, on the other hand, had a look of "can we get this over with already?" as she looked at Ted. Beetle just shrugged his shoulders. Power Girl patted Booster on the back, signifying the end of the hug. Booster didn't let go.

"Okay. Okay. Break it up!" said Beetle.

Reluctantly, Booster let go of the hug. But, he was still happy.

"Can I ask you a really big favor?" Power Girl asked Booster sweetly. "Could you get me a fruit punch? I'm parched!" She touched her throat to sell her thirst.

If Power Girl had asked Booster at that moment to dress like a schoolgirl and dance the funky chicken, he would have (and would've added the Bat-tusi, for good measure). Fruit punch was not a problem! "I'll be right back!" said Booster as he hurried off.

"Take your time!" said Power Girl.

Once Booster was out of earshot, Beetle said with a smile, "I think you have a fan."

"Great!" said Power Girl sardonically. "I should have asked for more than a 'Canary cameo' for this!"

A pained look crossed Beetle's face. "Aw, ssshhhhhhhhhhhhoot!" he exclaimed as he pulled out his cell phone.

Power Girl looked disbelievingly at Beetle. "Don't even tell me! After THAT, and you forget!"

"It's not like you didn't have me distracted yesterday!" said Beetle as he dialled. "Don't worry! I'll handle this!"

"I hope." Beetle added quietly.

"You'd better!" said Power Girl.

"What are you gonna do? Spank me?" asked Beetle as he looked up from the phone. Power Girl gave him a half smile and a raised eyebrow. Beetle reconsidered his question when he took Kara's strength into account. "Forget I said that!"

"You wish!" said Power Girl, making a mental note to add that to her repetoire.

As Beetle brought the phone up to his ear, he said to Power Girl, "I'm about to do a _really crap_ thing now!"

Before Power Girl could question what he meant, Beetle was talking on the phone. "Oracle!" he said quickly. "Send Canary! JSA headquarters! There's..." And he hung up and turned off the cell phone.

Power Girl just stared at Beetle in disbelief. Beetle looked down as though he were ashamed of himself. "I told you it was a crap thing!" he said.

"Dinah's going to rush here thinking there's an emergency!" said Power Girl. Kara thought about this for a second, then, she smiled. "Good! I hope she makes a spectacular entrance!"

"You've had people fooled all these years." said Beetle. Then, he smiled wickedly and said, "You're really a _BAD GIRL_!"

"Don't you forget it!" said Power Girl.

Booster came back with the punch. Power Girl was less than thrilled by his return. Then a thought occured to her.

"Booster," she said. "See that girl over there..." Power Girl turned Booster and pointed someone out.

"You mean the one with the wings and the smoking heinie?" asked Booster.

"She didn't want me to tell you this, but..."

"But what?" asked Booster.

"She's a really big fan of yours!" said Power Girl conspiatorily.

"NO!" said Booster.

"Yes!" said Power Girl. "And she thinks you're _HOT_!"

"Really?" asked Booster.

"I shouldn't tell you this," said Power Girl. She looked around quickly and whispered to Booster."But, she has a Booster Gold poster in her room!"

Booster looked over at Hawkgirl again. He seemed to be thinking (Beetle flinched away reflexively). But, Booster hesitated. Power Girl surreptitiously signalled Beetle for help.

Finally, Beetle chipped in. "I think you should go over and introduce yourself."

"But, she already knows who I am..." started Booster.

"Don't let her know that!" said Beetle as he placed a friendly arm around Booster's shoulders. "Be cool! Go over there and introduce yourself. You can fake sincerity. I've seen you do it!"

"You're right!" said an inspired Booster. "Who am I to deny any lovely lady the thrill of meeting Booster Gold!"

As Booster walked over toward Hawkgirl, Beetle turned to Power Girl and said, "What did we just do to that poor woman?"

"Nothing she can't handle." said Power Girl with a smile. "Or deserves!"

"Well," said Beetle. "All things considered, this isn't going too badly!"

Just then, the door to the study was flung open and everyone went silent. A man in bad polyester and a flaming orange Moe Howard haircut was standing in the doorway. He smirked at the scene around him.

"GUY GARDNER IS HERE!" he announced. "Let the party begin!"

As Beetle put his head in his hands, Power Girl said, "You couldn't keep your big mouth shut, could you?"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 10:32 AM._

"Tap the keg! Let's get this party rolling!" said Guy Gardner, former Green Lantern and current pain-in-the-ass. _"They all thought they could keep this little shin-dig secret from me!"_ thought Guy. _"If there's a party, GUY GARDNER knows about it!"_

Actually, L-Ron had let it slip during one of his many intermediary trips over to Guy's bar.

"Who invited HIM?" asked Power Girl, less than thrilled by the unannounced appearance of Guy.

"Don't ask me!" replied Blue Beetle. "I'd sooner walk through Hell in a gasoline suit than invite Garner to ANY party, much less THIS one!"

"HEY, SWEETIE!" Guy yelled at Ice. "Wanna relive some old times?" Guy made some pelvic thrusts as he asked the question. That was the thing about Guy: nothing but class (all of it low)! Thankfully, Ice had the good taste and sense enough to distance herself from Guy.

Meanwhile, elsewhere at the reception, Hawkgirl asked, "Who's the loudmouth in the bad suit?"

"Guy Gardner." responded Booster Gold. "Maybe if we all ignore him, he'll go away!"

"Does that work?" asked Hawkgirl, desperate for any way to rid the room of the newly arrived "loudmouth".

"Hardly ever." replied Booster, his voice tinged with remorse.

Hawkgirl smiled at the little joke. She didn't know what to expect from this Booster Gold. The way Power Girl painted the picture, Booster was an ignoramous whose only guide to life was his libido. But, Kendra found him to be charming and funny. _Handsome, too!_ She'd been around enough masked men to know what to look for, and she could tell that underneath the goggles and mask that Booster was knockout!

And he was SINCERE! Really sincere!

In another part of the room, Green Lantern was standing next to Flash at the refreshments table.

Flash pointed toward Gardner. "Isn't he one of yours?"

Lantern was shocked! "God, no!" he stated. He thought for a second. "What do you mean _'one of YOURS'_?"

"A Green Lantern." said Flash simply as he picked up a cookie.

"He was one of theirs." said Lantern. "Until Hal took the ring away from him!"

"'One of _'theirs'_?" asked Flash as he took a bite of the cookie.

"Yeah. The blue skinned fellows. The Guardians of the Universe!" said Lantern as he pointing up.

"Oh." said Flash. "So, Gardner WAS a Green Lantern?"

"Yeah." said Lantern.

"So." said Flash, finishing off the cookie. "He was one of yours."

Elsewhere at the party, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Star-Spangled Kid, and Jakeem Thunder had unwittingly set themselves up as the "kiddie's table" of the party.

"THIS is a real group!" said Cap to Mary. "You could learn alot about how a team SHOULD work here."

"Whatever you say, Billy." responded Mary. Mary didn't like to be lectured by Cap. Mary was also too polite to hurt her brother's feelings, so, she let him have his say. But one day...POW! ZOOM! Right to the moon!

Star-Spangled Kid was too pre-occupied to pay attention to the conversation. She was looking accross the room toward Blue Beetle and Power Girl. She couldn't get the conversation she "overheard" out of her mind. And Beetle did have a cute butt, too!

Sue and Ralph Dibny were having a conversation with Hourman and Mr. Terrific.

"You should talk with Beetle." Sue was telling Mr. Terrific. "He's quite the inventor, too."

"I'll have to corner him sometime today." said Mr. Terrific, always looking to compare notes with a fellow inventor.

Hawkman came over to the group. "Sue. Ralph." he said. "It's good to see you both again. It's been too long!"

"It's good seeing you too, Carter." said Ralph. "We should find a corner and talk about the old 'satellite days'!"

Hawkman smiled. But, it was a smile tinged with a little sadness. "Maybe a little later, Ralph. I have to pull that Gold fellow off of Hawkgirl before something bad happens."

"Still the 'Gloomy Gus'! Eh, Carter?" said Ralph light-heartedly. "Still think bad things happen at these mixers?"

"If that guy keeps hanging on Kendra, I can GUARENTEE something bad is going to happen at this mixer!" responded Hawkman levelly.

"Booster?" asked Sue. "Booster's harmless! He's just talking to her."

As luck would have it, Booster picked that time to hold Hawkgirl's hand in his, as both laughed the carefree laugh of the oblivious.

Both Sue and Ralph saw the veins stick out of Hawkman's neck. Hawkman clenched his fists and was about to walk over. Sue put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"_Carter! Stop!"_ said Sue. "Think! They're only talking. Don't go over there now and cause a problem. Take five minutes to cool off."

Hawkman looked down at Sue. He visible looked to unwind. "For you, Sue, I'll cool off. But, I'm going over there in five minutes. If this Booster is smart, he won't be there!"

Hawkman turned and walked out of the study.

Sue turned to Ralph. "Promise me that you'll never get _that way_!"

Ralph smiled. "I don't ever have to get that way! I don't get jealous! OTHER PEOPLE are jealous of ME!"

Sue sighed. "Yes, Ralph." she said as she rolled her eyes. "Everybody's jealous of your keen analytical mind and detective skills." She said like she had a lot of practice saying those words.

"No." said Ralph, correcting her. "The main reason everyone's jealous is because I have the most wonderful wife in the world!"

"Oh." said Sue, still touched by her husband's sweetness, no matter how corny.

"The analytical mind and detective skills are the secondary reasons everyone's jealous of me!"

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Chapter III

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 11:02 AM_

"You find Max. I'll get Beetle." Sue Dibny said to her husband. She knew Hawkman didn't make threats. He made statements, and backed them up with that mace of his. She just hoped Booster wouldn't be stupid about this.

Sue sighed. _"Yeah,"_ she thought. _"What were the chance of THAT!"_

Ralph found Max with L-Ron and Sand. "We've got trouble!" said Ralph.

Max sighed. He had experience with this kind of thing. "Which one of our guys? What'd they do? And to whom?"

"Not one of our guys." said Ralph. "Hawkman!"

"Hawkman!" asked Sand.

"What kind of problem?" asked Max calmly.

"Hawkman's gonna beat Booster up!" said Ralph excitedly.

"What'd Booster do to him?" asked Max. "Whoopie-cushion? Those damned 'castor oil and cat food' water balloons?"

"He was talking with Hawkgirl." said Ralph simply.

"That's it?" asked Max skeptically. "No practical joke? No unwitting insults? No 'bird' jokes?"

"Nothing." confirmed Ralph. "Booster's just talking to Hawkgirl."

"Then, what's the problem?" asked Max.

"Hawkman is a little..._overprotective_ where Hawkgirl is concerned." said Sand. "Especially if you throw another man into the mix." Sand spoke from experience on that one.

"So, Hawkman's jealous." said Max. "What's he gonna do? Beat Booster up for talking to 'his girl'?" Max asked jokingly.

Sand and Ralph just looked at Max.

"Hawkman's gonna BEAT UP Booster!" asked Max.

"No. He's not!" said Sand. "I'll have a talk with him. If you'll excuse me?" With that, Sand was off to find Hawkman.

"Where's Beetle?" asked Max. "We should get him to talk to Booster. Just in case!"

"Sue's looking for him." said Ralph. "Why don't we just..."

"Mrs. Dibny and Mr. Beetle seem to be spending considerable time together." stated L-Ron off-handedly.

"WHAT!" said Max and Ralph simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Sue found Blue Beetle with Power Girl. ("_Big Surprise!"_ thought Sue.) "I need to borrow Beetle for a second." she said to Power Girl. Sue grabbed Beetle by the arm and practically dragged him into a corner of the room.

"What's wrong?" Beetle asked, expecting the worst.

"Hawkman's going to beat up Booster!" said Sue.

Beetle thought for a second. "Does Booster deserve it?"

"TED!" said Sue sternly. "This is serious!"

Beetle sighed. "Why does Hawkman want to beat up Booster?"

"Because Booster's talking to Hawkgirl." said Sue.

Beetle just looked at her, expecting more of an explanation. "And?" prompted Beetle.

"And nothing." said Sue. "Hawkman is an extremely, _EXTREMELY_ jealous person! The fact that Booster was holding her hand didn't help matters."

Beetle was mildly shocked. "Really? I bet Kara didn't see that coming!"

Sue was confused. "What's that mean?"

"Power Girl kinda pointed Booster in Hawkgirl's direction." said Beetle. "I think she wanted to 'punish' her! Who knew she'd actually like Booster!"

Booster Gold was laying on the charm. Ted was right! He was good at faking sincerity! And this Hawkgirl seemed interested! _**Woo-Hoo!**_

When Booster had walked up to talk to her, the only thing on his mind was that fine kiester of hers. But, from the front he noticed she had a really tight body. Killer abs! AND a nice set of...eyes. (At least, that's what Booster called THEM when he didn't want to get slapped!)

But, she laughed at his jokes! She smiled at him and seemed glad to talk to him! Unlike a lot of people Booster could mention, she didn't treat him like a dunce.

Booster was smitten!

Back accross the room, Ralph asked, "Whatchu talking about, L-Ron?"

"I do not want to talk out of turn, your stretchiness," said L-Ron. "But, yesterday morning, Mr. Beetle did drag Mrs. Dibny into his cubicle. They kept their voices low, so I could not discern with my auditory sensors what was being said. However, I did hear Mrs. Dibny make an exclaimation."

"An 'exclaimation'?" asked Max.

"I believe she said 'WOW', o beloved leader." said L-Ron.

Ralph was shaking his head. A disbelieving smile on his face. "That doesn't prove anything!" said Ralph.

"I am not trying to 'prove' anything, your elasticity." said L-Ron. "I was just stating the coincidence of Mrs. Dibny and Mr. Beetle's proximity to each other over the past couple of days. At this party. Yesterday morning. Last night..."

"Last night!" asked Ralph, mildly stunned. "Sue was working in the office last night! I know! I left her there!"

"Yes, your rubbery-ness." said L-Ron. "And Mr. Beetle came back after everyone had gone home for the night."

Ralph couldn't believe this. Sue loved him! He knew that in his heart. Sue would never- NEVER!- do anything to hurt him.

"I was not there for all their time together." said L-Ron. "However, I did overhear the end of their conversation. I could relay the part of the conversation I heard, sir."

"You don't..." started Ralph, but, was cut off when L-Ron went into stenographer mode.

"**Blue Beetle:** '... I hope Ralph realizes what a lucky man he is to have a wife like you!' **Sue Dibny:** 'Don't forget your clothes!'"

Ralph's eyes nearly popped out of his head! He was stunned into silence.

L-Ron continued. "**Blue Beetle:** ''Night, Sue.' **Sue Dibny:** 'Hey, ladykiller. You know you have lipstick on your cheek, don't you?'** Blue Beetle:** 'No. I didn't realize that.' **Sue Dibny:** 'You've got to be more careful! If someone else were here, they'd have found out about 'the secret'! That's a clue even Ralph would find hard to ignore.'"

Ralph had the look of a man whose world was yanked out from under him.

Meanwhile, accross the room, Beetle was trying to placate Sue. "I'm sure the rest of the JSA isn't going to sit by and watch Hawkman beat up on a guest!"

"But, you have to..."

"No. No. No." said Beetle smiling. "This isn't a 'Super-Buddies problem'. This is a 'JSA problem'. If it was one of our guys about to cause trouble, then WE would handle the problem. I'm sure the JSA feels the same way."

Sue considered it for a second. "But, I know Hawkman..."

Beetle cut her off. "They know Hawkman, too. I'm sure Sand, or whoever the chairman is this week, is handling the problem."

Sue smiled a bit as she relented. "I guess you're right. I mean, what kind of team couldn't stop one of their members from starting a fight at a party?"

That was when the fist hit Beetle in the mouth!

In life, events fall into three categories: things you expect; things you don't expect; and things that _NO ONE EVER_ expects. Elongated Man throwing his fist accross a crowded room to punch Blue Beetle in the mouth falls into the third category.

"DAMN!" said Jakeem Thunder. "That was like something outta _'The Incredibles'_!"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 11:13 AM._

The room went silent in shock.

Blue Beetle was in a state of shock. Ralph had just punched him in the mouth and knocked him on his ass! RALPH DIBNY! One of best friends. A man NOT known for violent outbursts for any reason. And HE punched Beetle in the mouth! "WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON HERE?" he thought as he touched his split lip.

Elongated Man quickly made his way accross the room. As he approached the still-downed Beetle, his face contorted in anger. "Get up!" he yelled. "Get up, you son-of-a-!"

Sue stopped Ralph. "RALPH!" she exclaimed. "What is wrong with you!"

Ralph looked at her with both pain and distain. "What's wrong with ME!" he snapped. "What's wrong with YOU, you... you... JEZEBEL!"

The crowd went into an uncomfortable silence now. Anyone who knew the Dibnys had never heard a harsh word exchanged between them. To hear Ralph yell at Sue was both surreal and gut-churning for everyone there.

"JEZEBEL!" stated a shocked and angry Sue. "JEZEBEL! What are you talking about?"

"Oh. Don't play dumb!" said Ralph. "I know all about your affair with HIM!" Ralph pointed at Beetle.

"WHAT!" both Sue and Beetle exclaimed in unison.

"Where the Hell did you get a stupid idea like..." started Sue.

Ralph interrupted. "I know all about 'the secret' and..."

"RALPH! CALM DOWN!"

It was Ralph's turn to be stunned. He'd never heard that kind of authority in Blue Beetle's tone before! And it froze him for a second. Beetle got up off the floor wiping the blood from his mouth.

"You don't..." started Ralph.

"SHUT UP, RALPH!" Beetle hissed. "Just shut up before you start throwing things out you'll regret later!"

"You don't have the right..." started Ralph, overcoming his momentary shock.

Beetle interrupted Ralph's tirade. "Ralph!" Beetle had lowered his voice. "At least give me and Sue a chance to explain this to you. If you want to kick my ass afterwards, fine. But, I think discussing this in private is best for all concerned."

Ralph's anger had subsided for the time being. He nodded and followed Beetle out of the study. Sue followed behind Ralph.

There was awkward silence amongst both teams after the door shut.

"C'MON, EVERYONE!" shouted Guy Gardner, breaking the silence. "One punch! One punch!"

The assembly remained quiet. Most were shocked by Gardner's appalling timing. The rest (those that knew Guy) were sickened.

Gardner waved them all off. "Ah. To Hell with all of you!"

In the hallway outside of the study, Elongated Man was sitting in a chair. His anger had broken. It was replaced by sadness and confusion. "How could you? After all the time we've been together?" Tears were welling up in Ralph's eyes.

"Ralph," said Sue quietly, kneeling down in front of Ralph and holding his hands. "I don't know where you got the idea Ted and I were having an affair, but, we're not!"

"L-Ron overheard your little 'conversation' last night." Ralph responded, the hurt evident in his voice.

"L-Ron?" asked Beetle, wiping blood off of his lip.

"What did L-Ron hear?" asked Sue, desperate to understand how Ralph could get such an absurd idea in his head.

Ralph looked at Sue. "He heard you tell Ted not to forget his clothes! What was that about? Huh?"

"I had lunch with Kara." said Beetle calmly. "I'm not going to go out in uniform. I left my uniform sitting on my desk. I went back to the office to get it for the reception today. Those are the 'clothes' Sue told me not to forget."

That gave Ralph pause. It made sense, and Sue often referred to his own uniform as his "work clothes". In fact, she rarely referred to it as a uniform or costume.

Back at the party, whispers were beginning to start. It was human nature to discuss things that people had no clear knowledge of. In other words,** gossip**.

"Do you think Beetle and Elongated Man's wife...?" Hawkgirl asked Booster.

"NO!" said Booster emphatically. "No way! Beetle may be a lot of things, but, there's no way he'd sleep with a friend's wife! And there's no way in hell that Sue would do that to Ralph! PERIOD!"

"No doubt?" asked Hawkgirl.

"None!" said Booster. "I don't know what made Ralph think that, but, he's wrong! This is just a misunderstanding."

Hawkgirl was thinking that Power Girl was right. These people were like a family. Booster had no doubt in his mind that this was all a misunderstanding. He had no doubts that his friend wouldn't do that to another friend. She could tell that Booster was POSITIVE that nothing happened.

Elsewhere, Star-Spangle Kid asked, "Do you-?"

"No!" said Mary Marvel quickly.

"But they-" started SSK.

"NO!" said Mary emphatically enough that the Kid didn't even dare broach the subject again.

Back in the hallway outside of the study, Ralph still had his doubts. "Okay! Okay!" he said, trying to figure this out. "What about the lipstick on his cheek and 'the secret'? Huh? What about that?"

Sue looked up at Beetle. Beetle sighed. He nodded to Sue that it was okay to tell Ralph 'the secret'.

Back at the party, Fire and Ice were talking.

"They've been out there awhile." said Ice, concern in voice.

"It's been quiet out there, too." added Fire, as she bit her lip. "There's no way Sue and Ted...?" Fire let the question trail off.

"Bea, no. No way at all!" said Ice firmly.

"Right!" said Fire nervously. "Just checking."

Suddenly, the quiet from the hallway was broken by Ralph yelling **"YOU DA MAN! YOU-DA-MAN!".** There was an almost audible sigh of relief from the "Super-Buddies". If Ralph were yelling that, it wasn't because of an admission of guilt by Sue and Ted. It also meant that Ralph was convinced that the allegations were wrong, and that he wasn't mad anymore.

In the hallway, Beetle was asking Ralph, "Are you done yet?"

Ralph couldn't get over the fact that Ted and Kara... Now, he knew what other guys thought of HIM! Score another one for the geeks getting the hot girl!

"Before you get too happy, Mr. 'I-Don't-Get-Jealous'," said Sue. "I'm letting you know right now that I'm going shopping with Fire tomorrow! And I'm taking your credit card with me!"

Ralph didn't say a word, to his credit. He knew stupidity had it's price, and he was going to pay it! He'd have to go back out to the party and face all those people after making a fool of himself. Taking a hit, even a major hit, on his credit card was a small price to pay. "Yes, dear." he finally said.

"Honestly!" said Sue exasperated. "How could you think I'd cheat on you? With Ted, no less?"

Beetle raised an eyebrow at that unintentional insult, but, he kept his mouth shut, too.

"I'm sorry, Sue." Ralph said. "I know you'd never do that, but, just the thought you might..." Ralph let the rest trail off as he shook his head. "I'm sorry about hitting you, too, Ted."

Beetle rubbed his lower lip. "You learned that little move off of _"The Incredibles",_ didn't you?" he said with a slight smile.

Ralph shrugged his shoulders and managed a weak smile. "I love that movie!"

The doors opened to the study, and Ralph, Sue, and Beetle went back in to join the reception. Ralph put his hand on the back of his head and had an embarrassed look on his face. _"Well,"_ thought Beetle. _"If I can take consolation in anything, it's that Ralph won't do anything to embarrass himself again. At least today."_

As Sue and Ralph rejoined the party, Power Girl walked over to Beetle. "Nice lip!" said Power Girl.

Beetle gave her a half smile. "First time I heard you complain about it!"

"From the yelling I heard, I'll guess that you told Ralph." said Power Girl with a cocked eyebrow.

Beetle shrugged his shoulders. "Emergency situation. Couldn't be helped. It could have been worse, though."

Suddenly, a figure shattered through the window of the study! She completed a full roll and came up in a fighting stance!

Black Canary looked at the reception going on around her. First left, then right. Not a sign of alien invasion, super-villian attack, or extra-dimensional anomolies! Nothing! She straightened up. "Someone is in sooooo much trouble!" she said as she caught sight of Beetle.

Power Girl leaned over and whispered to Beetle, "At least, it was a spectacular entrance!"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 11:30 AM._

To say Black Canary was upset would be an understatement of monumental proportions. She had a late night and was blissfully sleeping when Oracle called. "Trouble at the JSA headquarters," she told Canary. "Blue Beetle was cut-off in mid-sentence," she told Canary. Dinah rushed off as fast as she could to get here. And there was nothing but a reception going on.

Getting something this wrong was not in Oracle's nature. Hence the information she got was wrong. And she got the information from Blue Beetle. The person Canary was staring at right now!

Power Girl saw the look on Canary's face. She leaned in and whispered to Beetle again. "If you ask really nice, she might just kick your ass in private and not embarrass you in front of your friends!"

Canary started advancing toward Beetle's position. She was cut-off by Wildcat.

"KID!" said Wildcat, obviously happy to see his former student and friend. "How ya been doin'?"

Canary was so intent on having a "discussion" with Beetle, Ted Grant's sudden appearance threw her off stride. "I...I'm fine." said a mildly surprised Canary.

"Good!" said Wildcat with a big smile. "I'm really happy that you could come!"

"I'm glad I could make it, too." said Canary, as she let Wildcat lead her into the party.

"Oh! Play the lottery tonight!" Power Girl said to Beetle. "You just dodged a major bullet!"

Beetle looked at her and smiled. But, as he looked past her, the smile evaporated. Power Girl turned to see what Beetle was looking at.

Hawkman had come through the doors of the study. Obviously, Sand had neither found nor talked to Hawkman. Hawkman scanned the crowd until he found who he was looking for. Then, he started striding over to where Booster and Hawkgirl were, a very unfriendly look on his face (actually, it was just a major frown, as that was all of Hawkman's face you could see when he had his helmet on).

Before Hawkman could get there though, Guy Gardner had come up behind Hawkgirl. "Well, **_HELLO_**, sweetcheeks!" he said, slapping her behind.

Before either Hawkman or Booster could do anything, Hawkgirl quickly spun around and connected a solid right cross to Gardner's infamous "glass jaw"!

Gardner's jaw slid sideways as spittle flew out of his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he was unconscious before he even hit the floor.

"What did you ever see in him?" Fire asked Ice.

"I honestly don't know!" responded Ice.

Both Hawkman and Booster froze in surprise.

Hawkman just shrugged his shoulders. _"Damn!"_ he thought. _"I guess she really can take care of herself!"_ Hawkman turned around, found Sue and Ralph Dibny, and went off to discuss the glory days of the "Satellite League".

"ONE PUNCH! ONE PUNCH!" yelled Beetle, who was experiencing deja vu.

"OH MY GOD!" screamed Canary. "I _DIDN'T_ miss it this time! I'm so happy!"

"WOW!" said Booster to Hawkgirl. "THAT WAS GREAT! You're my hero!"

"Really?" said Hawkgirl. "I thought you might be upset that I punched one of your own!"

Booster waved that thought off. "He's not really one of us! And you didn't just punch him. You knocked him OUT!"

"Sometimes I just get so mad at every guy focusing on my butt!" Hawkgirl said. "What am I? The "J-Lo" of the superhero set? I've got more to offer than just _THAT_!"

"Yeah!" said Booster. "Like a WICKED right hook!"

Elsewhere at the party, Max Lord called over L-Ron.

"Yes, your imperiousness?" asked L-Ron.

"See if you can drag Gardner off the floor and put him somewhere out of the way." said Max. "I don't want anyone tripping over him and hurting themselves!"

"Worried about law suits, oh milk-of-human-kindness?" asked L-Ron.

"Exactly!" said Max.

Beetle had to admit, seeing Gardner get knocked out made this party for him! He was wiping the tears out of his eyes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to look at Black Canary.

"You didn't really think I'd forgotten about you, did you?" asked Canary, with just a hint of the sadistic in her voice.

Beetle winced and mouthed a silent "damned!". He slumped his shoulders and said, "I guess not!"

"You want the butt-kicking here or out in the hall?" she asked.

Beetle sighed. "The hall." he said. He walked out into the hallway. It seemed to him he was spending more time out here than in the party.

Canary followed him out the door and shut it behind her. Once the door was shut, she booted the still turned Beetle right in the gluteus maximus.

Beetle jumped and yelled "OUCH!". He didn't expect the ass-kicking to be literal! He spun around and started rubbing his sore posterior.

"You deserve a lot more than that for setting me up!" said Canary. "But...getting a chance to talk to Wildcat and watching Gardner get decked ALMOST makes up for it. That and you still have to deal with Oracle!"

Beetle bent over, looked into Canary's broach, and waved. "Hi, Babs."

Canary's head jerked to the side, and she brought a hand up to her ear as she winced. "Not so loud!" she said, but, not to Beetle. Canary looked at Beetle and said, "She wants you to turn your cell phone back on."

Beetle hesitated. "What? Now?"

Canary's head jerked to the side again. She pulled off her earring/receiver. "Damned! Kill the messenger why don't you, Barbara!"

Canary said to Beetle, "You know, the longer you keep her waiting, the madder she's going to get!"

"Or maybe," said Beetle. "She just needs time to cool off!" He smiled at Canary. "Why not turn off the receiver and go back to enjoying the party?"

Canary considered that for a second and smirked. "Why not?" she asked as she switched of the receiver.

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 11:53 AM._

In the pantry, where L-Ron had dragged his unconscious body, Guy Gardner was stirring. He moaned as sat up. "What the hell happened?" he muttered to himself. Guy felt a twinge of pain when he mumbled and began rubbing his jaw.

The last thing her remembered was feeling the most incredible ass he ever touched! Mary Marvel's and Ice's were great, but, this one had size! Firm, yet soft. If it had been a pillow, Guy would have given it his full endorsement!

_"That's right!"_ thought Guy. _"I was trying to save Hawkgirl (and that fantastic booty!) from that loser, Booster Gold!"_ Guy's mind was racing. _"He musta sucker-punched me!"_

"SONOFA-" Guy said aloud, as the pain in his jaw cut him short.

Elsewhere, Blue Beetle and Black Canary were rejoining the party.

"By the way," said Canary. "What happened to your lip?"

"Ralph punched me." said Beetle matter-of-factly.

Canary stopped. "Ralph! As in 'Ralph Dibny'? Ralph Dibny punched you!"

Beetle shrugged.

"Don't leave me hanging here!" stated Canary. "What happened?"

"It's a long, rather embarrassing story. Best left untold." Beetle said. He turned and started walking away with a smile Canary couldn't see.

"Uh-uh!" stated Canary emphatically, as she grabbed Beetle's elbow to stop him. "You've GOT to tell me!"

"Do I?" asked Beetle, with a half-smile.

"You most certainly DO!" said Canary. "Unless you want Batman finding out who was behind the **'Incident'** all those years ago!"

Beetle was shocked. "Blackmail does not suit you!" said Beetle smoothly. "Besides, I'm sure the 'world's greatest detective' figured that one out long ago. It's not like he had a world of suspects!"

"So, you admit it!" said Canary.

"No." said Beetle. "Although, I wish I did it! That has to rank as one of the best 'bat-pranks' ever!"

Canary stopped again. "Wait a second! You mean you DIDN'T do it?"

Beetle shook his head. "Not me. And it wasn't Booster either. We were playing video games at the time of the..." Beetle made quotation marks with his fingers. "... **'Incident'**!"

Canary was shocked. "All these years, I thought it was YOU!"

"Everyone did." said Beetle, a little proudly. "Except Batman. He thought it was Booster. He thought Booster'd crack under interrogation, too!"

"Batman interrogated Booster?" asked Canary with a raised eyebrow.

"Booster confessed to everything from bedwetting to drinking other people's sodas!" said Beetle with a smile. "But, he didn't confess to the **'Incident'**!"

"Well, if it wasn't you. And it wasn't Booster. Then, who? Guy?" asked Canary.

Beetle had to laugh that one off. "Guy! Do you really think Guy possesses the style...the PANACHE...to pull off the **'Incident'**?"

"An unsolved mystery after all these years!" said Canary with a smile.

Beetle smiled at her knowingly. "I do have a prime suspect, though!" he said conspiratorially.

"Who?" asked Canary quickly.

Beetle narrowed his eyes and looked around quickly. He leaned into Canary and whispered, "J'Onn!"

"NO. WAY." said Canary.

Beetle smiled and shrugged. "It makes sense. Who else could have gotten access to Batman's utility belt?"

Elsewhere, Fire was enjoying "entertaining" Hourman, Mr. Terrific, and Wildcat. She was laughing at all the jokes she heard. And the 'boys' enjoyed watching her laugh. Her chest heaving up and down. Hypnotically.

_"Okay."_ thought Fire. _"I'll admit it. I'm a flirt."_

Fire LOVED attention! Especially male attention. If you're going to a party, be the life of the party! The CENTER of attention!

Ice was watching her friend. _"She hasn't changed at all!"_ thought Ice, although not disapprovingly. It was nice to know that somethings hadn't changed while she was away.

"Hello."

Ice was surprised by the voice behind her. The voice belonged to a man in cowl and dark goggles. He extended a hand. "I'm Dr. Mid-Nite."

Ice shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you." Ice said with a smile. "I'm Ice."

"You have the most wonderful voice." Dr. Mid-Nite said with a smile. "It's soft, yet, has a beautiful strength to it."

Ice blushed at the compliment. She didn't know what to say. So, Ice did what she always did. She directed the conversation away from herself.

"I'm surprised you're not 'admiring' my friend's new costume." said Ice. "Everyone else is."

"If by 'everyone else' you mean every man in the room, I agree." said Dr. Mid-Nite with a smile. "I'm afraid her new costume would be lost on me."

"Oh." said Ice. "Well, Booster looks good in his uniform, too!"

"What?" said Dr. Mid-Nite, mildly confused.

"Well, if Fire's costume is lost on you, I thought..."

"No!" said Dr. Mid-Nite quickly. "I'm blind, not gay (not that there's anything wrong with that)!"

Ice turned red. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know." Ice felt so foolish now. "I'll leave you alone before I embarrass myself anymore!"

Ice was going to leave, but, Dr. Mid-Nite held onto her hand. "No." he said. "Please don't go. I think, maybe, we should start again. Hello. I'm Dr. Mid-Nite. And you?"

Ice smiled and played along. "I'm Ice. Pleased to meet you."

Accross the room, Canary said. "Look at that smooth operator!"

"Is calling a doctor a 'smooth operator' a pun?" asked Beetle.

Canary shot Beetle a look. No, that wasn't an intentional pun. And Canary didn't like that Beetle caught it before she did.

"Har-de-har-har!" said Canary.

"So," said Beetle. "Is this Dr. Mid-Nite some kind of lothario?"

"No!" said Canary. "It's just..."

"You dated him?" asked Beetle.

"No!" said Canary. "Well...yes. Damned! Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" asked Beetle innocently.

"Steer conversations in a different direction! That's what! We were discussing Dr. Mid-Nite and Ice and you steered the direction of the conversation my way!"

"Did I?" asked Beetle with a mixture of faux-shock and innocence. "I'm offended. Here you accuse me of hijacking conversations after physically assaulting me and trying to blackmail me!" Beetle shook his head. "You've changed, Dinah! Did you know that? You think fishnets can forgive a lot!"

Canary was in a state of semi-shock as Beetle walked away.

"Hey!" she yelled at Beetle as she realized something. "I still don't know why Ralph punched you!"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 12:09 PM._

Now, more than ever, Black Canary was DETERMINED to find out why Ralph punched Blue Beetle. If Beetle wouldn't tell her, maybe, Ralph would!

Canary found Ralph sitting in a quiet corner of the room with Sue and Hawkman. They were talking about the "old days" when the League had a satellite and more than the "Big Seven" members.

"Remember that time Wonder Woman caught us playing holographic video games when you were supposed to be on monitor duty?" Elongated Man asked Hawkman.

"Ahhhh." said a slightly embarrassed Hawkman. "You were losing, too. If I remember correctly."

Ralph shook his head. "You DON'T remember correctly! I had half your fleet blown away and..."

Canary hated to interrupt Ralph and Carter reliving their holographic interstellar war stories, but, she did. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Ralph?"

"Sure!" said Ralph, always happy to talk with old friends.

As Ralph got up, Sue said with a mischievous smile, "I'll try not to get too _JEALOUS_ while your gone!"

Canary could detect a dig in that, but, she had no idea what it meant.

"Thanks, dear." said Ralph with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. Ralph and Canary walked off to talk.

Elsewhere at the party, Blue Beetle found his way back to Power Girl, who was talking with Hawkgirl. Booster was nowhere to be seen. Hawkgirl caught Beetle looking around.

"Bathroom." she said.

"Ah." said Beetle. Beetle hadn't met Hawkgirl yet. He extended his hand. "Blue Beetle."

Hawkgirl shook his hand. "Yes, I know. I've heard a lot about you!" Hawkgirl smiled at him as Power Girl shot her a dirty look.

"Okay." Beetle said, a little confused. "Nothing bad I hope."

"Oh, no!" said Hawkgirl, beaming. "It was all positively GLOWING!"

_"Why does she DO this to me!"_ thought Power Girl. _"Now I know why Ted didn't tell Booster!"_ A nasty thought popped into Power Girl's mind.

She grabbed Hawkgirl by the elbow. "Excuse us for a second." she quickly told Beetle with a sweet smile. "Y'know! 'Girl talk'!" With that, she practically dragged Hawkgirl out of the room.

Once, Power Girl and Hawkgirl were out of everyone's earshot, Power Girl asked Hawkgirl, "You didn't tell Booster about Ted and me, did you?"

There was enough menace in Power Girl's voice that Hawkgirl hesitated. "Weeellllllll..." she started.

Power Girl looked heavenward. "God," she said. "Could you give me a helping hand here!"

Hawkgirl said, "It's not like it's a secret or anything!"

Power Girl just looked at her.

Realization dawned on Hawkgirl. "Oh." she said. "It is a secret."

"Correction," said a perturbed Power Girl. "It _WAS_ a secret!"

"How was I suppose to know that!" Hawkgirl said, trying to defend herself. "Isn't Booster suppose to be Beetle's best friend? Why's he keeping it secret from Booster?"

"You know how you like to tease me about it?" Power Girl patiently asked Hawkgirl.

Hawkgirl nodded.

Power Girl continued. "Well, Booster's just like you. Only WORSE! He and Beetle have been friends for years! And like most guys, the only way they show affection for each other IS TO RAG ON EACH OTHER!"

"Oh." said Hawkgirl.

"Is that all you can say?" said a clearly upset Power Girl. "_'Oh'_?"

"This is your fault!" said Hawkgirl to a stunned Power Girl. "You should know better than to tell me a secret! I've got a big mouth! Everyone knows it!"

In a different corner of the party, Canary came right to the point. "Why'd you punch Beetle?"

Ralph looked embarrassed and refused to look Canary in the eye. "I'd rather not talk about it." he mumbled.

Canary was starting to get frustrated. First, Beetle wouldn't tell her, now Ralph wouldn't! She would never admit to anyone, but, she HATED that feeling of not knowing what was going on!

"C'mon, Ralph!" she said. "This is _me_! You can..."

Ralph cut her off. "I'd rather not talk about it." He turned and walked away.

_"This is going to drive me nuts until I find out what happened!"_ thought Canary. Then she smiled.

_"There's one more thing I can try!"_ she thought.

Elsewhere, Beetle was waiting for Power Girl and Hawkgirl to come back. This "Girl Talk" must have been important because it sure was taking a long time!

"How ya doin'?"

Beetle turned to see Booster. Booster was smiling broadly at him. This made Beetle nervous. It usually meant that Booster thought he knew something Beetle didn't.

A little knowledge is dangerous. A little knowledge in Booster Gold's hands was **disasterous**!

Beetle narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Booster. "Why the smile?" Beetle asked cautiously.

"Why not?" asked Booster, whose smile never relented. He waved around the room broadly. "The party's going great! A chance to make new friends! A chance to see Guy get knocked out! A chance to _learn new things_!"

THIS made Beetle really nervous! Booster didn't want to learn new things unless he saw something in it for himself.

Beetle was going to hate himself, but, he had to ask. "Like what new things?" The words came out cautiously.

Booster looked around to make sure no one would overhear. He whispered to Beetle. "Like Hawkgirl isn't married to Hawkman!" Booster winked at Beetle and smiled.

Beetle loosened up and almost sighed his relief.

"And that you've been doing the NASTY with Kara! _YOU DOG_!" continued Booster.

Beetle visibly winced as though he were hit the gut. "_SUNUVA-!_ How'd you find out!" hissed Beetle.

Booster smiled. "Never mind how I found out! I have to tell you that I'm HURT that I had to find this out on the streets and not from my best friend!"

"Find out what?" asked Ice. She and Fire had been passing by when they overheard Booster's last comment.

Before Beetle could stop him, Booster blurted out happily, "Beetle's been getting busy with Power Girl! Do you believe that?"

**"WHAT!"** asked Fire, feeling the jealousy boil up. She never really felt anything romantic for Ted, although she liked to flirt with him. But STILL... Why was he looking at other women when she was around!

Ice, ever nice and the one person Beetle knew wasn't going to ride him about this, said, "Isn't she out of your league?"

The question both stunned and hurt Beetle. "What does _THAT_ mean?" he asked incredulously.

Ice, a bit embarrassed that she asked that question outloud, said, "Well...she's like a 'superwoman' and you're..."

"I'm what?" asked Beetle, starting to feel both defensive and offended.

"A regular guy!" Fire finished off Ice's thought.

"Meaning _WHAT_?" asked Beetle, now visibly starting to get angry.

The trio was beginning to realize just how upset Beetle was getting. Ice, feeling badly that she had upset her friend so much, tried her best to smooth things over. But, she just made matters worse. "It's just that...when you and her...and you..." Ice started becoming frustrated that she couldn't put her question in a way that wouldn't offend Beetle.

"How do you **do it** without Power Girl hurting you?" asked Fire bluntly as Ice looked on in shock.

Beetle blinked. His whole body tensed up and he began to shake. Finally, he just waved his three friends off, turned, and stalked away.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. The Conclusion

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 12:20 PM._

Black Canary kept her eyes open and waited. Waited for the "weak one" to stray away from the herd. When that moment occured, she would pounce.

But, she needed to determine which was the "weak one". _Fire?_ No. Too willful and tempermental. _Ice?_ No. Despite her apparent sweetness, she'd fiercely protect one of her own. Same went for _Mary Marvel_. _Guy?_ Apparently out cold. _Max?_ Nope. Unless there were something in it for himself. _Booster?..._

Dinah smiled. **DING-DING-DING!** _"We have a winner!"_ she thought.

Canary watched Blue Beetle's "encounter" with Fire, Ice, and Booster Gold from accross the room. She couldn't tell what the discussion was about, but, she could tell it was heated (especially from Beetle's point) toward the end. She watched as Beetle, visibly angry, stalked off into the hall. The remaining trio looked shaken by Beetle's reaction. Soon, Fire and Ice went off to different parts of the reception. Leaving Booster alone.

Canary swooped in.

"Hi, Booster." she said brightly. "How have you been?"

Meanwhile, in the hall, Blue Beetle was leaning against the wall. His eyes closed and his mouth set in scowl. Lost in his own thoughts.

_"I knew that would happen!"_ he thought. _"I KNEW IT!"_

It was actually worse than Beetle expected. He expected the awkward questions. As much a pain as that was, he could deal with it. He hadn't expected the voicing of his own insecurities. That Power Girl was "out of his league". He had flashbacks to looking at attractive women and always telling himself, _"Forget it, Ted! She's outta your league!"._ Beetle was mad at his friends for bring those feelings back in him. But, he was more mad at himself for still feeling that way!

Beetle was so lost in his own thoughts he didn't heard Ice enter the hallway until she said, "Ted?"

Beetle opened his eyes. He didn't say anything. He was still hurting. He was waiting for Ice to make the next move.

"I'm sorry, Ted." Ice said quietly. "I really didn't mean to upset you. It's just so shocking..."

"That Power Girl would hang out with someone she so clearly outclasses?" Beetle asked, still stinging from the earlier conversation.

"No!" said Ice quickly. She had a hard time saying what came next. "It's just that...so many things have changed since I was...away. It was a shock to me because it only seemed like yesterday that we were all in the Embassy. And Power Girl was in Paris. And..." Ice trailed off, shaking her head.

Beetle's stance softened. Ice had been such a trooper since they'd brought her back from Hell that no one thought about how hard it must be for her to adjust to having all that time taken away from her.

Beetle gave Ice a small smile. It was hard to stay mad at her for very long. She was so sweet, sincere, and earnest!

"I know you didn't mean to upset me." said Beetle quietly. "Your reaction just caught me off-guard! I expected it from Booster and Fire, but, not from you. The term "out of your league" is just a push-button to me."

Ice put her hand on Beetle's shoulder. "I'm really am sorry about that." she said. Then she smiled softly. "I think you're a really nice guy, Ted. And any woman would be lucky to have you!"

Beetle shook his head. "I should hire you for my P.R." said Beetle with a smile.

Ice smiled back. "I'll put it in writing if you want!"

Back at the party, Black Canary convinced Booster to join her out in the opposite hallway. She was determined that she was going to get the answer to her question at any cost!

"Booster," Canary started sweetly. "I need your honest answer to a question."

"Okay." said Booster cautiously.

Canary stepped a leg forward and started running her hand up it. "You don't think these fishnet stockings make me look _too dated_, do you?"

Booster's eyes followed Canary's hands up her extremely shapely and lovely legs. "N...no!" replied Booster, sweat forming on his upper lip. "I always loved the fishnets! One of my biggest regrets in life is that you didn't wear them in our time in the League together!"

Canary smiled sweetly at Booster. "Really?" she asked. "You are just so sweet!"

Booster was feeling giddy. He always thought Canary disliked him. Or, at the very least, disapproved of him. PLUS, he heard she and Green Arrow were on the outs!

Canary walked up to Booster. She got in very close to Booster."Can I ask you another question?" she asked breathlessly.

"Sure!" said Booster quickly, just keeping his voice from cracking.

Canary stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Booster's ear, "Why'd Ralph punch Ted?"

Booster pulled back suddenly. "Is this what all the flirting has been about?" asked Booster shrewdly. "Just so that you can find out why Ralph punched Beetle?"

Canary started to smooth things over in the hopes of keeping this going, but, Booster interrupted her.

"I just want you to know that I have absolutely _NO PROBLEM_ with that!"

"Well?" asked Canary breathlessly.

"Well." said Booster. "Your gonna have to give me a little _more_ than that for the answer! Maybe a little cleavage? A butt shake?"

Canary thought about it. And then was thoroughly disgusted with herself. Was finding out why Ralph punched Beetle really important enough to debase herself in front of a leering Booster Gold!

Canary looked up at Booster. "Forget about it!" she said.

"Oh, no!" said Booster. "I don't think I COULD forget about it!"

Elsewhere, at the party. Sue had gotten tired of Ralph and Hawkman's "old war stories". Afterall, how many times could a person listen to the "Set" story and not get bored?Sue found Fire off near the window Black Canary had shattered making her "entrance". They started comparing notes on what had happened at the party so far.

"Wildcat?" asked Sue.

"A seven. He's got machismo!" responded Fire. "...So, you knew about Beetle and Power Girl?"

"Uh-huh. Wasn't that hard to figure out. Captain Marvel?"

"A six. He's okay, but, too goody-goody. ...You're saying you figured it out?"

"Uh-huh. Hawkman?"

"_LOVE_ hairy chests. An eight! ...How? How'd you figure it out?"

"Simply put all the clues together! Spend enough time with Ralph..."

"A four." said Fire teasingly, as she smiled and looked away.

Sue shot her a dirty look and completed her sentence. "...And you learn some detective work."

At a different part of the reception, Hourman decided that now would be a good time to see what these "Super-Buddies" were made of!

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 12:44 PM._

Black Canary couldn't stand it anymore! She had to know why Ralph Dibny punched Blue Beetle. Canary was a mental wreck. All the stonewalling by everyone was driving Dinah nuts! She found Sue Dibny talking with Fire. Canary quickly walked up to Sue.

"Sue!" Canary started as she grabbed Sue by the shoulders. "Please! If you have any regard for my sanity, please- _PLEASE!-_ tell me why Ralph punched Ted!"

Fire watched this proceed and simply "tsk"ed her disapproval as she shook her head.

Sue was appalled by the state Canary was in. The "boys", knowing that Canary hated not being in the loop, were probably keeping the information from her just to wind her up.

"Dinah, calm down! I'll tell you!" said Sue calmly.

A relieved smile spread accross Canary's face.

"Ralph punched Beetle," started Sue slowly. "Because, _-somehow - somewhere-_ Ralph got it into his mind that Ted and myself were having an affair!"

The smile froze on Dinah's face and she blinked a couple of times. _"WHAT?"_ she asked incredulously.

"Yep!" said Sue smirking. "Old Mr. "I-Don't-Get-Jealous" got some bad info and flew right off the handle! He punched Beetle from accross the room."

"Like in _'The Incredibles'_?" asked a stunnedCanary.

"Yeah." said Fire. "I didn't think Ralph had it in him!"

Canary shook her head. "Where would Ralph get the idea that you and Ted...? I mean, that's pretty far-fetched!"

"Especially since Ted's been so busy with Power Girl!" said Fire smiling wickedly.

Canary's jaw went slack. _"WHAT!" _Canary went from "out-of-the-loop" to "information overload"!

Elsewhere at the party, Hourman had picked his first victim. He'd been eavesdropping in on Hawkman and Elongated Man's conversation. He decided that Elongated Man was the perfect choice to be the first victim of the afternoon. But, in Hourman's mind, he knew that there would be more. Rex Tyler, Hourman, smiled at that thought!

At another spot at the party, Blue Beetle decided it was time to rejoin the group. He had let all the anger go. It wasn't like Beetle _DIDN'T_ see it coming. Some might say that was pessimistic view. _"But, those people don't know my friends!"_ thought Beetle.He was in a state of semi-peace with himself.

"There you are!" said Power Girl, looking slightly relieved. "I got back from my little 'talk' with Hawkgirl, and you were gone! What happened?"

"My worst fears were realized." said Beetle calmly.

Power Girl winced. "Booster found out?"

"Oh, yeah. And Fire. And Ice." said Beetle.

"You seem to be taking this awfully calmly." opinioned Power Girl.

Beetle shrugged. "I already had the blow-up. The worst is over."

"As bad as you thought it would be?" asked Power Girl.

Beetle nodded. "_Oh, yeah!_ Aside from voicing my worst insecurities, the general concensus was the question of how you could keep from hurting me in the course of our...'activities'!" Beetle gave Power Girl a sly gaze.

Power Girl smiled. "Oh, it's a difficult task!"

"I hope I'm worth it." Beetle stated with mock-indignation.

"If you weren't, I'd have 'hurt' you a long time ago!" said Power Girl slyly. "What are these 'worst insecurities' of yours that were voiced?"

Beetle remained silent for a second. Finally, he said. "That you're 'outta my league'."

"That's silly!" Power Girl said, waving the very idea off. "Of course, I'm out of your league! I just like slumming it!" She broke into a big smile.

Beetle gave her a sardonic smile. "I guess I'm lucky you have such low standards!"

In a secluded room in the JSA Brownstone, Elongated Man was taking a giant-sized ass-whooping. Hourman was relentless! He kept hitting Elongated Man with punch after punch! At first, Elongated Man tried avoiding the punches, but, as they kept connecting, he became more and more desperate. He tried his best to defend himself from Hourman, but, it was too little too late. It was all over for Elongated Man. Shattered and humiliated at the hands of Hourman!

Back at the party, Canary was in a state of shock! She _DID NOT_ see that one coming! "Beetle and... _POWER GIRL_!"

"Yeah." said Fire. "You coulda knocked me over with a feather when I heard it, too!"

"BUT- HOW?" asked Canary. "Wouldn't she...?" Canary let the question hang.

"That's what I thought, too!" said Fire.

"Maybe it was a one-time thing?" offered Canary.

"No." said Sue. "I'm pretty sure we're talking about more than one time."

Both Canary and Fire were stunned into silence.

"Besides," said Sue, looking past them. "I think you're both missing a very important point. You guys are so concerned about the _'how?'_, when you should be asking _'how good?'._ Afterall, they seem to be fairly happy with each other!"

Fire and Canary, both considering what Sue had just said, followed Sue's stare and saw Beetle and Power Girl laughing over some private joke they had just shared.

"WOW!" said Canary after a second. "Beetle just went up several notches on my 'respect-o-meter'!"

"Amen, sister!" said Fire. "Amen!"

On the other side of the room, Mr. Terrific had finally found Blue Beetle. "You're a hard man to find!" said Mr. Terrific. He introduced himself. "I hear you're quite the inventor!"

"I dabble." said Beetle as Power Girl rolled her eyes.

"I'll let you two discuss 'shop' for awhile." said Power Girl to Beetle. "There's something I have to do anyway!"

Power Girl walked over to where Hawkgirl and Booster were talking. Power Girl spun Hawkgirl around. Hawkgirl was about to protest, but, Power Girl cut her off _by planting a long, deep kiss on her_! At first, Hawkgirl resisted, but, eventually gave into the passion they shared and returned Power Girl's kiss.

Booster was shocked!-BUT, enjoying himself!

As Power Girl started kissing the side of Hawkgirl's neck, Hawkgirl breathlessly started calling out Booster's name. "Booster... Booster..."

_**"BOOSTER!"**_

Booster finally snapped out of his fantasy as Hawkgirl snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Man, you were out of it for a few seconds! What were you thinking about?" asked Hawkgirl.

"Oh. Nothing." said Booster, slightly embarassed.

"Well," said Hawkgirl. "Before you 'zoned-out', I was telling you that Hourman wanted to talk to you."

Booster was a little leery. Afterall, Hawkgirl was one thing, but, Hourman was one of those "fossils" that Booster had no desire in meeting. But, he had to put up a good showing for Hawkgirl.

"Okay." he said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 1:23 PM_

Booster Gold put up a valiant effort. He was a far more worthy opponent than Elongated Man, at least in Hourman's opinion. Booster lasted longer than Hourman thought he would. Booster had good reflexes and, surprisingly, stayed calm under adversity.

But, Hourman's experience proved Booster's undoing. A left-right combination ended the epic struggle decisively. Booster never saw it coming!

Back at the party, Blue Beetle and Mr. Terrific were deep in technological discussion. They'd been comparing notes, discussing the latest issue of _"Popular Science",_ and generally shooting the breeze in "geek-speak".

"So," said Mr. Terrific. "Of course you shield your systems?"

"That goes without saying!" said Beetle. "I don't want a stray EM pulse knocking out the Bug's systems."

"Not to mention your own propulsion systems." added Terrific.

Beetle was confused. "What about them?" he asked.

"C'mon!" said Terrific. "Your ship isn't exactly an aerodynamic wonder! Simple jet propulsion alone isn't going to keep her aloft. You have to use magnetic repulsors!"

"Do I?" asked Beetle innocently.

"Yes!" said Terrific emphatically. He added light-heartedly, "Unless you're packing an anti-grav drive in the Bug."

Beetle just smiled knowingly.

Mr. Terrific was beyond impressed, but, tried not to show it. "You're packing an anti-grav drive in the Bug!" he asked.

"Uh-huh!" said Beetle nodding, obviously pleased with himself.

"Nth metal?" asked Terrific.

"Nuh-uh!" said Beetle shaking his head.

"Alien tech?"

"Nope!"

"Magic?"

"Pfft! As if I'd ever use magic! I hate magic!"

"Okay," said Terrific. "I give up! Where'd you get anti-gravity technology?"

"Where do you think?" said Beetle. "I created it myself!"

"Let me get this straight!" said Terrific, trying to wrap his mind around the mind-boggling concept of an Earth-invented anti-grav generator. "You created an anti-grav generator for your ship!"

"No." said Beetle. And added quickly. "I created _FOUR_ anti-grav generators for the Bug!"

"_FOUR_!" Asked Terrific in shock. "Why four?"

Beetle explained. "The Bug Mark I had one big anti-grav generator, but, the generator has to spin in order to work!" Beetle held his hand out palm down and began rolling it at the wrist while bringing his fingers up and down. "Stability while hovering wasn't the greatest! About the same as a helicopter."

"The Bug Mark II had two smaller anti-grav generators: one rotating clockwise, the other counter-clockwise. Better stability, although pitch was still a minor problem, and the Bug, in emergency situation, could still fly under one generator." Beetle continued.

"Now, the latest version of the Bug," said Beetle, as he delighted in discussing the virtues of his Bug. "The latest version of the Bug has four anti-grav generators: Two clockwise, two counter-clockwise. Thanks to the wonders of miniturization, each generator is about the size of a car tire and can kick out a pulse _GREATER_ than the huge original! ROCK SOLID in hover mode!"

"Damned!" said a clearly impressed Mr. Terrific. "Any chance of you sharing _THAT_ recipe?"

Accross the room, Hawkgirl and Power Girl were watching Beetle and Terrific's technological summit.

"Twenty minutes on doo-dads and whiz-bangers! How could you _possibly_ want to miss that?" asked Hawkgirl, with a smile.

"Oh, yeah! Techno-babble is my first language!" said Power Girl sardonically.

"No. No." corrected Hawkgirl. "Computerese is your first language. It just sounds like techno-babble!"

Power Girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you calling me a geek?" asked Power Girl.

Hawkgirl shrugged. "If the taped-up horned-rimmed glasses fit..."

"I don't wear glasses." said Power Girl with a half smile.

"Ever consider them as part of your of your secret identity?" asked Hawkgirl sweetly. "I think you'd look _HOT_!"

In another part of the party, Hourman was talking with Sand, when Fire quickly walked over to them. She got right in Hourman's face (Which was fine with Hourman because he had to look down at Fire and got a nice peek at her bountious cleavage!).

"I found out what you did to Ralph and Booster!" said Fire aggressively. "How about taking me on!"

Hourman blew off the suggestion. "You're a GIRL! Girls don't..."

Fire cut him off. "_THIS_ girl does! And I'll kick your ass!"

Hourman laughed that off. "A lot of people have tried, and when all was said and done, they ALL cried!"

"Aw, Rex!" said Sand. "It's bad enough when you do this to us! Do you have to do it to our guests?"

Before Hourman could reply, Fire said, "He's giving you a way out, _MINUTE_man! Better take it!"

"OH-ho-ho!" said Hourman. He had to respect that kind of audacity! "You are on, lovely lady! Let's get ready to rumble!"

At a different part of the party, Black Canary was just staring at Blue Beetle. She was unable to get the mental picture Sue Dibny had painted out of her mind! It was..._FREAKY_! Never would Canary have thought about Beetle _THAT_ way! Now, she couldn't shake the thought. It was like having a song stuck in your head.

Canary became aware of another person standing next to her. She looked over and saw Star-Spangled Kid. She was doing the same thing Canary had been doing. Finally, she became aware that Canary was looking at her.

"Who'da thunk it? Huh?" the Kid said with a smile.

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 2:11 PM._

Hourman almost made the mistake of taking Fire too lightly. She was really good! Fire took the fight to Hourman early, and she was relentless in her attack. She had Hourman on the ropes, but, he had quickly found a pattern to Fire's offense and started a counter-attack.

Hourman put his qualms aside and battered Fire. Punch after punch. Fire let her fury control her and forgot her defense. Hourman had Fire's pattern down, and Fire did nothing to change it. An uppercut sealed Hourman's victory!

At another part of the party, Blue Beetle was letting out a sigh. This had turned out to be a very long, very strange day. Beetle had nearly choked, been punched in the mouth (he rubbed his lip at that thought), kicked in the butt, been embarassed, and insulted. AND all by his FRIENDS! He counted himself lucky none of his enemies had shown up.

"Tough day, son?" asked the Flash as he walked up to Beetle.

"I've had worse." answered Beetle. "But, they usually involve a super-villian trying to kill me!"

Flash smiled at the joke. "No one knows how to get on your nerves more than the people you care about."

Beetle had to smile at that. He'd lay his life on the line for any one of his friends, but, the thought of spending an afternoon with them filled him with dread!

"You've got a good bunch, though!" said Flash. "They're a little rough around the edges. But then, what team isn't?"

"Somedays," said Beetle with a smile. "I think they're intentionally trying to drive me nuts!"

Flash started laughing. "Every team leader thinks that way!"

Beetle froze. His mind started racing. He went through every member of the "Super-Buddies" and mentally checked them off a list. AND Max had been giving him more and more to do. Beetle blinked with realization.

"Ohmygod!" Beetle said, sounding less than thrilled, as he began massaging his temples. "I am the team leader! How the Hell did that happen?"

"Same way it happens to all of us." said Flash empathetically. "Someone suckers you into it!"

As Beetle was coming to grips with this realization, Booster, Ralph, and Fire walked up to him.

"We need your help." said Fire, looking somewhat...downtrodden.

Beetle sighed. "What happened?" Even as Beetle asked the question, he started cringing.

"Hourman's been kicking our collective booty for the past hour!" said Ralph.

Beetle looked at all of them. They seemed fine. No signs of injury or other affects of a "booty-kicking".

"Am I gonna get an explaination or do I have to guess?" asked Beetle.

Before anyone could answer, Flash asked, "'Main Event Boxing III', right?"

The trio nodded.

Beetle was dumbfounded. "A video game? You're coming to me because someone beat you guys at a VIDEO GAME!"

The Flash came to the defense of Beetle's friends. "Hourman's become somewhat...addicted to them. His son introduced them to him. And he took to them like a fish to water. He sometimes takes his boxing games a little too seriously though! He can become a bit... obnoxious when he plays!"

Beetle blinked. "We're talking about a video game here!"

Booster looked down in shame. "He called us 'a bunch of fumble-thumbed whipper-snappers'!"

Ralph added, "He said 'Your generation is a bunch of losers!'"

Beetle looked at Flash. Flash just shrugged his shoulders. "I can't tell you he didn't say that. Like I said, he can become obnoxious when he's playing that video game."

"Do you know how _EMBARASSING_ it is to get schooled in a video game by someone _old enough to be your grandfather_!" asked Booster. "No offense!" he added to the Flash.

"Now, why would I find _that_ offensive?" asked a clearly offended Flash.

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" asked Beetle.

"You've got to defend our honor!" said Fire, surprised that Beetle wasn't thinking of that.

"WHAT?" asked Beetle, clearly not following their line of reasoning.

"C'mon, Beetle!" said Ralph. "You know you're our best gamer! You've _CREATED_ new video games!"

"No." Beetle corrected him. "I've created video game _PLATFORMS_. Hardware to play the games on. Not the games themselves."

Fire waved off his argument. "That doesn't matter! You're still our best video game player. Booster's good, but, you wax his ass ALL THE TIME!"

"_HEY_!" said Booster.

"Give it up, Booster!" said Ralph. "You know it's true!"

Beetle held up his hands for them to keep quiet. "It doesn't matter who the better gamer is! So Hourman beat you guys? So what? It's only a VIDEO GAME!"

Hawkgirl walked over to the group. "Hourman's looking for you." she said to Beetle. Hawkgirl sounded as though she was less than happy to be delivering that message.

"Thanks for the advanced warning!" Booster said sarcasticly to Hawkgirl.

Hawkgirl shrugged. "Better you than me! I'm tired of losing to him all the time!"

"Tell him 'thanks, but, no thanks'!" said Beetle to Hawkgirl. "I've had a really long day and playing a video game doesn't rank up high on my 'to-do list'."

Hawkgirl looked down, almost embarassed by what she had to say next. "Hourman thought you might say something like that. And he had a message for you."

"Really?" asked Beetle. "And the message is...?"

Hawkgirl looked up and pursed her lips. Finally, almost wincing, she delivered the message verbatim: "'If that bright blue clown is too chicken to take his ass-whipping like a man, maybe he should start wearing one of Kara's dresses! Everyone knows she wear the pants in that relationship anyway!'"

Flash cringed as Hawkgirl delivered the message.

Booster, Fire, and Ralph all looked down, not wanting to see Beetle's reaction to _that_ message.

Blue Beetle raised his eyebrows.

It was very quiet for a few seconds. Finally, Fire had to ask, "Well? Is it on?"

"Oh," said Beetle determined. "It is _SOOOOO_ on!"

_JSA Brownstone, New York, NY. 2:29 PM._

The word spread around the party quickly. The members of the "Super-Buddies" wanted to see Blue Beetle "defend the team's honor". The members of the JSA wanted to see if anyone could beat Hourman at "Main Event Boxing III". Even Ma Hunkle had come out of the kitchen to watch as everyone gathered in the rec room.

Hourman was sitting in front of the television screen waiting for Beetle to take a seat. "I thought you might not make it." he said with a smirk.

"Sorry. I couldn't find one of Kara's dresses that fit me." Beetle responded as he took a seat next to Hourman.

Hourman smiled and waved the game contoller around. "You're not going to hold that against me. Are you? It was just my way of giving you some...motivation!"

Beetle picked up his controller. "You should think of doing it professionally."

Hourman brought up the screen to select the fighter. "Are you ready to rumble?" he asked confidently.

"Just one thing before we start." said Beetle. He leaned in close so that only Hourman could hear him. "Win or lose, there's not going to be a rematch. I've had a lousy day. And I really don't appreciate the comments in that message you had Hawkgirl deliver."

"Is that all?" asked Hourman. Flash was right. Hourman really did become obnoxious when playing this game.

"No." said Beetle loudly, so that all could hear. "As the 'visiting team', I think I should get first pick of fighters."

Hourman nodded his consent with a smirk. Beetle used the controller to scroll through the names until he came to and highlighted "Ted Grant".

From talking with Booster, Ralph, and Fire, Beetle found out that Hourman used the same boxer to beat all three of them: his friend and teammate Ted Grant, Wildcat and former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

"I know he's your favorite boxer and all," said Beetle with an innocent smile. "But, I hope you don't mind if I play as him. Do you?"

Beetle saw Hourman's jaw tense, but, to his credit, Hourman responded, "You're our guest. Feel free."

Beetle smiled. _"So you want to play mind-games with me, eh?"_ thought Beetle. _"I'm gonna mess with you a bit!"_

Beetle moved the cursor up the list and selected Muhammad Ali. "I appreciate the offer." said Beetle. "But, I don't want you feeling anything less than your best!"

Hourman recognized the game Beetle was playing. He smirked as he highlighted Ted Grant's name and selected it. "Let the games begin!" he said.

As the bell rung to start the first round, Hourman decided to give Beetle a little test to see how good a player he was. He moved "Grant" to the center of the ring and waited for "Ali". When Beetle moved "Ali" forward, Hourman hit a quick jab that Beetle blocked. Two more quick jabs to "Ali" were both blocked. Then, "Grant" followed with a jab-hook combination. "Ali" blocked the jab and ducked the hook. "Ali" responded with a stinging jab that connected.

Hourman smiled and nodded. **_THIS_** was going to be a good match!

As the match unfolded, Beetle thought to himself that picking Ali as Grant's opponent was a good choice. He had enough experience playing this game that he knew how the boxers were rated. Grant had the edge in power and toughness. Ali had the edge in stamina and technique.

During the early rounds, Beetle used Ali's famous "rope-a-dope" strategy. He kept stinging Hourman with quick jabs and backing off before Hourman responded.

Hourman did a good job in not showing it, but, he was getting mildly annoyed. He hated when an opponent used that strategy. He'd much rather have them come head-on.

Hourman got over-aggresive in the fifth round, and it almost cost him. He went for a double jab-straight punch combo, and Beetle ducked the straight punch and connected with an uppercut that floored the wide-open "Grant".

The assembled heroes responded to what was happening on the screen, and when "Grant" went down, the crowd popped. Ralph shouted out "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"! But, "Ted Grant" was far from finished. He got up at thesix count. And the battle went on.

Beetle's strategy was working well up till this point. He used "Ali"'s speed and technique to jab his way to frustrating Hourman. He was connecting with the jabs and either blocking or ducking most of Hourman's counters.

Hourman had to admit it. This guy was good! Much better than his friends! He was even better than Jakeem. And Jakeem was the only one here who could give him a decent fight. It was time to change things up!

By the eighth round, Hourman had found his stride and the tide of battle had changed. He'd caught Beetle with several combos already. And once Hourman had the momentum going his way, he was relentless. "Ali" was staggered. "Grant" moved in for the kill. A one-two combo floored "Ali".

"_Yeah_!" shouted Hourman triumphantly.

The crowd groaned. Another victory for Hourman..._woo-pee_.

But, "Ali" wasn't done yet. He got up at the eight count. Hourman sat back down, disappointed that didn't end the match. Beetle kept hanging around, and it was taking its toll.

Everyone's nerves were frayed by the eleventh round. Both "boxers" on the screen showed the damage of the fight with swollen eyes and cuts. Hourman and Beetle had been at it for over 45 minutes, and they, too, were feeling the affects. Beetle's forearms were cramping from the constant button mashing, and he shook them out between rounds. Hourman's lower back was killing him from the tension and sitting on the edge of the chair, and he was stretching between rounds.

The bell rung for the 12th and final round.

"Ali" and "Grant" circled each other. Beetle and Hourman each waited for the other to make a mistake. No human opponent had ever taken Hourman to the 12th round! Hourman had become accustomed to the early round knockout, and this long bout was killing him! He had two minutes to clinch this or lose it. He was taking the chance.

"Grant" came at "Ali" with an opening series of jabs. Unlike the earlier rounds, it was harder to block after the damage done. Hourman connected with two of the three. "Ali" responded with a stiff jab-straight punch combo that connected. "Grant" backed off to regroup. "Ali" came in with his own series of jabs. "Grant" ducked the last one and scored with a right cross that knocked "Ali" to the canvas.

Tension filled the room, but, "Ali" got up at the nine count. This one was going the distance.

The bell rung ending the fight.

Hourman tossed the controller down and stretched his back. "Damn!" he said to Beetle. "You're _good_!"

Beetle put the controller down and started rubbing his forearms. "So, I guess I don't have to put on a dress?"

Hourman winced. The prolonged battle had drained all the cockiness from Hourman. "Sorry about that! Sometimes I get a little... _intense_ when I play this game."

The screen came up with the judges' decision: Grant over Ali by split-decision.

Beetle extended his hand to Hourman. "Congratulations." he said.

Hourman shook his hand. "Thanks." And he smiled. "But, It's ONLY a game!"

Beetle smiled. "I'm glad you realize that."

Hourman laughed. "I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk. I'm gonna apologize to your friends now." He patted Beetle on the knee on his way out of the chair. "You're alright..." Hourman raised an eyebrow and smiled. "...for a 'whipper-snapper'!"

"Thanks, 'gramps'!" said Beetle with a smile.

"I'm not the one rubbing cramps out of my arms." said Hourman slyly.

"Yeah," said Beetle as he looked up at Hourman. "But, I'm not gonna need a heatpad for my back tonight!"

Hourman stretched his back and groaned. "Good point!" he said as he patted Beetle shoulder as he passed.

Power Girl took the seat Hourman vacated. "You lost." she said.

Beetle shrugged. "Can't win 'em all!"

Power Girl looked at him. "You know, a lot of the people here only knew you by reputation." Power Girl started.

Beetle winced slightly at that. He knew what his reputation was like in the "superhero community".

"But," said Power Girl. "I think most of them are reconsidering that!" She smiled. "A lot of crap went down today, and you handled it all pretty well. Flash thinks highly of you."

Beetle just leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm always going to be considered 'that second-stringer from the Second City'."

Power Girl tilted her head. "Only to those people that don't know you." she said.

Beetle tilted his head over and opened one eye. He smiled at her and said, "Changing opinions one person at a time!"

"You look beat." she said.

"I feel beat. It's been a long day!" he said closing his eyes again.

"That's a shame!" said Power Girl with a slight smile. "You didn't even get to see my room yet."

Beetle opened an eye again and smiled. "I have to drive everyone home."

Power Girl got out of her chair and leaned over to Beetle. "Let them take a cab! I'm sure they'll understand."

Beetle just smiled as Power Girl grabbed both his hands and helped him out of the chair...

_JLA Watchtower, the Moon orbiting Earth. 1:45 AM._

"We didn't get called in?" asked Batman skeptically.

"No." J'Onn J'Onnz said. "We did not." By this point J'Onn was not only NOT surprised by Batman's sudden appearances, he was actually expecting them.

"No disasters? Alien invasions? Super-villian attacks?" asked Batman.

"Nothing." said J'Onn.

"One of these things actually went off without a hitch?"

J'Onn raised a brow. "Apparently so!"

J'Onn J'Onnz got up from his seat at the monitoring console and headed over to the teleporter.

"And where are you going might I ask?" queried Batman.

"Yes, you may ask." J'Onn responded with a hint of a smile. "And the answer would be to get Oreos. I hope you don't mind covering the monitors until I get back." With that J'Onn activated the teleporter and vanished in a burst of light.

As Batman stood there pondering uninterrupted mixers and Oreos, the signal device on his utility belt went off. Batman reached into a pouch on his belt. When he pulled his hand out, his fingers were covered in a white foam...

_JLI Embassy, New York, NY. Years ago..._

Batman had called a meeting of the newly formed Justice League International. Batman looked around the table. Everyone was present. Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Mister Miracle, Guy Gardner, and Max Lord.

Before Batman could call the meeting to order, the signal device on his utility belt went off. Batman reached down and opened the capsule containing the transmitter. A white foam shot out of the capsule.

Shaving cream!

Beetle was the first to react, letting out a loud "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Booster started pounding the table as he guffawed.

Canary and Miracle tried to stiffle their laughter, but, to no avail.

Guy let out a loud "HAW!"

Marvel and Max did a better job of covering their laughter.

And J'Onn sat there with the faintest of smiles on his face.

As Batman wiped shaving cream off his fingers, he looked up at the group and said, "You all realize that there will be consequences to this **_incident_**!"

**THE END**


End file.
